Severus Snape or the Half Blood Prince
by Pink Wolf Princess
Summary: A bit of a look into their trip to Diagon Alley.  Now officially dropped, sorry.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I'm adding HP to my PR fics; I own neither.

This begins at the end of chapter 18 in PoA but gets very AU very fast. ;)

This one will cover the summer of 1994, as well as the tail end of Harry's third year.

* * *

**Chapter One: But tonight Harry didn't make a wish.**

Severus Snape pulled off the invisibility cloak, pointing his wand at Remus Lupin. He hadn't heard much of what Lupin and Black had been telling Potter, Weasley, and Granger but what did it matter? Lily was dead.

Granger screamed, while Black leapt to his feet. Potter looked shocked, and those eyes of his that could be Lily's were wide. The youngest Weasley boy was lying down on a battered bed, and one of his legs looked nasty. Careful to keep his wand pointed at Lupin's chest even as he tossed aside the Potter cloak, fully aware of just how dangerous the werewolf wizard could be, Snape noted, "I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow. Very useful, Potter, I thank you..."

Their shock was still evident on their faces; Snape decided why not and began a monologue despite knowing fully well what clichés they were. When would he get another chance to do one, after all, especially one so well deserved? "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here? I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did, lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

Lupin started, "Severus-"

But Snape overtook him, a deep, vindictive rage welling up. "I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout-"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything- I can explain- Sirius is not here to kill Harry-"

And I'm bald, Snape cynically told himself as he continued tightly, "Two more for Azkaban tonight. I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this… he was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin… a tame werewolf…"

Remus John Lupin was heavily tempted to call Snape a fool but barely restrained himself, one of Snape's earlier comments making him realize just why he was so emotional this evening. Calmly, softly, he stated, "Sirius and I will come along quietly-"

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!"

"After you cast the Accio spell for Peter Pettigrew," Lupin finished, raising an eyebrow at his old friend who had made the outburst. Keeping his wand aimed at Lupin Snape cast the spell. Why not humor the pair?

"Accio Peter Pettigrew."

With a wild, frantic squeak Scabbers flew out of Ron's grasp and onto the end of Snape's wand, where he grappled desperately in order not to fall. Snape gaped.

"Weasley's _rat_?"

Sourly Black went, "Fitting, isn't it?"

Potter looked back and forth between the three men. "Wait. What? I'm confused."

"You're always confused, Potter," Snape commented dryly, picking up the rat by the scruff of his neck. Eying it he realized, "The rat is missing a claw in the right place… he was certainly close enough to the Potters… and he lacked- or should I say lack?- the strong will to withstand the Dark Lord, to become his servant."

Suddenly Potter looked almost sick. "Then we can't let him escape… I think Trelawney made an actual prophecy… one where if he escapes, the Dark Lord would revive."

Lupin snorted. "Her?"  
But Snape knew better, but remained skeptical. "Oh, really?"

"She went out of it, more than usual, really, and spoke in this deep voice… afterwards she acted as if nothing had happened," Potter rushed on. "It said twelve years, that the servant had been chained for twelve years. And if it had been Black surely he would have just gone to the Dark Lord instead of going after me?"

"Although it was my idea to switch Secret-keepers, just like it was my idea for that 'prank'," Black spat out. With a shiver Snape realized something truly horrid. He and Black had something in **common**. Just as he had been blaming himself for his role in Lily's death, Black had been blaming himself for his role in James' death. But neither of them had actively tried to cause their deaths, it seemed.

Pointing his wand at the rat Snape silently cast the required spell, still not quite trusting Lupin or Black. In jerks and gasps the rat reverted to his true form, that of Peter Pettigrew. As his mind cleared Snape remembered his skill at Legilimency and used it to cast the creature's mind. It was indeed Pettigrew, a short and balding man who seemed scrawnier than Snape recalled, and he was the one who sold the Potters to the Dark Lord.

All three adult men snarled at Pettigrew. Binding him, Snape walked over to Lupin and Black. With a sour sigh he held out his hand.

"I'm sorry, Black. I should have known you were too much of Potter's dog to bite him. And Lupin, should I apologize you as well?"

Squeezing Black's shoulder Lupin admitted, "I thought Black was the traitor as well. I need to apologize to him."

Warily Black shook Snape's hand. "Thanks… I guess."

Looking over at Lupin he assured the werewolf, "How were you to know? Really, we thought about telling you but we figured the fewer people who knew the better."

Pettigrew tried to wiggle but ended up falling down onto his nose.

Lupin sighed. "What should we do with him?"

"Kill him!"

Then Black and Snape exchanged a horrified look as they realized they had spoken in tandem. Meanwhile Granger spoke up timidly. "But I mean, what really happened?"

"Simple. I decided that I'd be the public Secret-keeper and talked James into really using Peter over there. It didn't go as planned."

An odd emotion flickered across Lupin's face, making Black roll his eyes.

"I would have used you but for the little fact that I didn't know how you being a werewolf would affect the Fidelius charm."

"Oh…"

Harry walked over to Pettigrew and nudged him in the ribs with his foot. "I don't think we should kill him. He's not worth getting blood on your hands- any of you."

"But-" Black whined. Snape snarled, "He betrayed Lily!"

"What's James, a house-elf?" Black retorted. Offended Potter commented, "Hey! No insulting Dobby!"

"What?"

Snape looked back at the still-struggling Peter, opting not to react to Potter. "Black, how did you know about Pettigrew though? About him being at Hogwarts…"

For a response Black got out a crumpled up piece of newspaper, handing it silently to Snape. On the front page was the image of the Weasley family- complete with 'Scabbers' on Ron's shoulder. Softly Snape reasoned, "This was the edition Fudge gave you during your visit, isn't it?"

Black nodded curtly, his grey eyes gleaming hungrily at the prone Pettigrew. Darkly he commented, "The caption told me the boy would be going to Hogwarts… I remembered a bit about Ron, how he was only a few months older than Harry while Ginny was just over a year younger. If they were at Hogwarts…"

"So was Harry," Lupin finished, peering at the yellowed page. Ron shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't know! Honest!"

Lupin gave him a kindly smile. "Of course not. Although how his unusual longevity was explained is beyond me."

Ron shrugged. "Errol has lasted for ages too… we figured it was a Weasley pet trait."

Granger groaned and began to rub at one of her temples; Snape couldn't blame her. Snape noted, "You were afraid if word reached Pettigrew of any sign of the Dark Lord's return he'd kill Potter."

"Pah!" went Ron, sitting up a little straighter. "Compared to the last two years, this one was a breeze… although," he realized with concern, "we really didn't know until afterwards just how close You-Know-Who was to regaining power…"

Lupin chuckled tiredly, "Do I really want to know?"

"No," groaned Granger. But Snape wasn't paying attention anymore, feeling Potter's gaze on him. Crossly he demanded, "What?"

"I just realized how odd it was that Voldemort didn't kill my mum right away…" His eyes were far too much like Lily's, distracting him from the fact that both of his friends had flinched at the Dark Lord's name. Taking a step towards Snape he pointed out, "Those times in my first year weren't about evening the score with my dad, were they? They were for my mum."

"Did we miss something?" Lupin puzzled. Also frowning Granger questioned, "But what about the finger? Did he cut it off himself?"

"Yes," Black growled. "I chased him down, he yelled that I had betrayed Lily and James, and blew up the street. Then he cut off a finger and went down the sewer as a rat…" His eyes went bleak. "It was all just too much."

Snape looked over at the large, purring vaguely cat-like orange creature who had hopped up onto the bed with Ron.

"Where does this… creature come into play?"

"Oh Merlin's beard Snape and I agreed that Crookshanks is absurd!" Weasley shuddered, but Snape saw that it wasn't just horror at the idea- there was pain in there as well. What exactly had happened to his leg? It looked to be in fairly bad shape. Black shrugged, "After a bit of convincing he became my ally… telling me about the rat, getting a list of passwords from a boy's bedside table, trying to get Peter for me. I suppose he must have faked his death again."

Everyone turned to the squirming man on the floor. With a gulp Ron realized, "My rat is the reason Harry's parents are dead."

"It was my idea to switch Secret-keepers," Black observed bleakly, Lupin looked at him sympathetically. Potter shook his head, troubled.

"No. It's between me and Voldemort."

Both Granger and Weasley flinched. Plaintively the latter inquired, "Do you really have to keep saying his name so freely?"

Potter rolled his eyes. Quietly Snape inquired, "What exactly does that mean, Potter?"

"He told me so, when we met again before the Mirror of Erised. He wasn't after my parents; he was after me."

Bitterly Snape conceded, "True. But I…"

Granger smacked her palm to her forehead. "Can we please play the blame game some other time? All that matters is getting Pettigrew to the castle before he escapes to rejoin You-Know-Who."

"Or we could just kill him," Snape observed mildly. Black perked up. "I never thought I'd agreed with Snape, but hey people used to say it was impossible to break out of Azkaban!"

Wryly Snape observed, "That means so, so much to me."

"Anytime," Black assured Snape.

Lupin eyed the silently struggling Pettigrew silently. "Well…" There was a vengeful hunger in his eyes as well.

"I don't think you should kill him; I don't think that he's worth that. I don't think my parents would want any of you to end up as killers," Potter spoke up, his chin held up high. Even though Snape knew that Black and Lupin would see the James in him, all he personally could see at the moment was the Lily. Ugh. Grimly Potter continued, "If anyone deserves to be sent to Azkaban it's him."

Black smirked. "True… I've heard the real Death Eaters in there. They're all pretty peeved at Peter. I bet that they'd be more than willing to give him a welcoming party should the chance arise."

Pettigrew blanched and looked imploringly at Ron. When Ron looked away, sickened, he turned his gaze on Granger who just stepped back. Finally he looked at Potter and forced himself to speak. "You all don't understand! The Dark Lord was taking over; he had power! He would have killed me!"

All three men snarled. Granger pointed her wand at him. "Silencio…"

Turning to Black she commented, "But… ah… Mister Black, how did you escape from Azkaban?"

Black looked away, seeing things none of them wanted to see. "I knew I was innocent of the crimes they put in for. It wasn't a happy thought, but it kept me sane. And well, Lupin and Snape can guess the rest."

Illuminated Snape nodded. Granger looked over at Pettigrew. "I see. Lupin's a werewolf, while Pettigrew's an Animagus but so are you. You used your Animagus form to escape Azkaban and avoid being caught. And you must have done it illegially since you aren't on the official list."

"Exactly," Lupin nodded. Guiltily he acknowledged, "I betrayed Dumbledore's trust in me by doing so… he let me come to Hogwarts, he gave me a job, and I had repaid him by letting my three best friends become Animagi to keep me company when I was transformed. It helped me keep my humanity during the full moons, yes, but at what cost?"

"And your father was an Animagus as well," Sirius murmured, looking at Harry. Out loud he said, "We were young and foolish, and clever enough to get away with it."

Snape looked sullen.

Black scratched the back of his head, looking ashamed as he studied Snape's face. "Snape found out because I was a git. James and Remus wouldn't speak to me for a month."

"Really?" Snape commented, stunned. He had missed that part of the aftermath. But it made an odd sort of sense as he hadn't been pranked during the month following the 'prank' and thus the foursome must have reunited when Potter and Lupin forgave Black and the pranks had resumed. Plus Black looked… guilty over the prank. How odd. Huh. Perhaps Potter hadn't been so awful as he thought, or was that the overload of information speaking?

Grimly Lupin said, "We'll have to beware the Dementors."

"Of course," Black snapped as he hauled a cowering Pettigrew to his feet. "We won't let the rat get away, now will we?"

Snape lifted an eyebrow. "Ah… Lupin. You forget yourself. Tonight is a full moon; perhaps you should stay behind in case the cloud cover lifts."

Lupin blanched. "Good idea. But first-"

He pointed his wand at Ron, casting the spell 'Ferula' to bandage Ron's leg. Then he gave his wand to Black. "Keep an eye on it until I'm… back, all right?"

Crookshanks led the way, Snape and Pettigrew following, with Granger helping Weasley along while Potter and Black brought up the rear. As they strolled along the tunnel leading back to the Whomping Willow, having closed the passageway behind them, Black scratched the side of his head awkwardly.

"Do you know what this means, Harry?" he asked abruptly. Harry blinked up at him. "You're free."

"Yes… but I'm also- I don't know if anyone ever told you- I'm your godfather."

Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah, I knew that."

"Well…" Black continued stiffly. "Your parents appointed me your guardian. If anything happened to them…"

Harry blinked again. It couldn't possibly mean what he thought he meant. Anxiously Black stated, "I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle instead."

"What- live with you?" Harry gaped. Misunderstanding Black added hurriedly, "Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to. I understand, I'd just thought I'd offer…"

"Are you insane? Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

Black paused, his eyes wide. "You want to? You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it!" Harry exclaimed. Black beamed, looking for a moment like the best man Harry had seen in the moving photograph of his parents' wedding. Then Snape had to break into the moment. "You'll learn, Black, that young Potter here is as brash as both of his parents combined- a dangerous combination that leads him to often say things that he means when he shouldn't."

"Well, he should this time," Weasley defended his best friend wearily. Glancing back, Snape saw that Weasley seemed to be taking this turn of events hard. Of course, if Snape had learned that his beloved pet had been responsible for the deaths of Lily's parents he'd be fairly miserable as well. But it was no reason to mope. So he rolled his eyes and instructed Weasley, "It's not your fault your pet rat turned out to be a Death Eater responsible for the deaths of Potter's parents. If you don't cheer up soon I'll have to take five points from Gryffindor."

Weasley gaped at him, furious, but Snape didn't like the appraising look Granger was giving him. But luckily they were soon out and walking across the castle grounds. As they did so the clouds melted away, the full moon lighting everything in sight. Granger let out a shudder of relief.

"Imagine if… oh, poor Professor Lupin…"

A clammy chill suddenly filled Harry. He looked around fearfully. "Dementors."

"I know," Black shuddered, tightening his grip on Lupin's wand. Potter lifted his wand. So did Snape. From everywhere they came, well over a hundred of them. Looking oddly confident Potter came to the fore. Remembering the simple fact that he had a godfather now, and perhaps a chance at a real family for the first time he could remember-

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A giant silvery stag erupted from Potter's wand, its nimbus driving off all of the Dementors. Snape observed, "Not half bad, Potter. But it does confirm the fact that you take after your father."

"Yes, we know. James and I were gits a lot during our years in Hogwarts, especially to your lot," Black sighed. "But Snape, be fair. You were gits back just as often."

Snape couldn't argue with that. So he just ignored Black.

Tail held high Crookshanks resumed leading the moonlit way back to Hogwarts. No one was surprised to see Professor McGonagall there, in a quilted crimson dressing gown. She looked down at them from over her glasses, although her eyebrows went high when she realized just who made up their strange little group.

Quietly, somberly she observed, "It was Pettigrew all along, wasn't it?"

Black held up his head high. "Yes."

Dourly Ron explained, "He was Scabbers, professor. I didn't know…"

McGonagall decided, "Perhaps you all should go see Dumbledore. Save for Ron, of course. He needs to go to the infirmary wing."

"EH?"

Black looked more closely at Granger and Weasley. "Well, well, well, Harry. You got yourself your own Sirius and Remus here."

Darkly he added, "But you were smart enough to avoid having a Peter."

As Sirius had made these comments Ron had insisted on accompanying the others and McGonagall had surrendered.

As they followed her into Hogwarts Snape had to grumble, "Hasn't this night been long enough already?"

McGonagall shared the lead with Crookshanks to the statue leading up to Dumbledore's office. Sharply she spoke the password.

"Chocolate Frogs."

In silence they went up the newly revealed stairs, finding Dumbledore writing at his desk while a sleeping Fawkes nearby. He looked up, and blinked his eyes in surprise.

"Ah. Welcome. Please sit down."

"Food?" Black and Weasley chorused hopefully. McGonagall raised her eyes to the ceiling as the others got comfortable. Clasping his hands together Dumbledore inquired, "Now, I would like the full story."

It took a while, with everyone interrupting everyone, but at last the gist of the story came across. Black had conceded the fact that he, Pettigrew, and the elder Potter had become Animagi to be with Lupin even on the full moon- turning into a vast, shaggy black dog.

Potter yelped, "You're the Grim?"

That had had led to an interesting tangent of conversation but at length everything had been sorted out. McGonagall exhaled heavily. "I'm sorry, Black."

"Eh, it's okay. I am a Black after all; that's not a fact easily forgotten," Black stated simply without rancor. By this point Weasley, Granger, and Potter were all looking rather tired yet relieved. McGonagall requested, "Dumbledore, may I escort the trio to the infirmary wing?"

"Yes, of course. But one last thing- I found the most unusual artifact on my desk this evening," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he revealed a battered, smelly black sock. "Do any of you know what it means?"

"Dobby," Harry smiled fondly, understanding the meaning at once. "Of course he would- Buckbeak's situation is a lot like his was. Good old Dobby."

So the assistant headmistress led the trio away from the office. Looking back at the still-bound Pettigrew Snape commented, "I wonder how the Ministry of Magic will take this."

"Not well," Dumbledore conceded. "But they will have to accept it."

"Good," Black almost-growled. More calmly he said, "Well, I'd better start house-hunting for me and Harry."

"Ah- for you and Harry?"

"Yeah, I mean he is my godson after all."

"I'm afraid Harry will have to stay with his aunt and uncle for at least part of the summer holiday," Dumbledore shook his head. Black's jaw dropped.

"WHY?"

Snape rubbed at the ear closer to Black. "Could you stop shouting so often?"

"Shush," Black retorted but not as bitterly as he could have, leaning forward in his chair. "Well, why? He wants to live with me, I want to live with him, his parents wanted him to live with me rather than them…"

"It's not that simple, I'm afraid. A blood bond was created when Lily sacrificed herself in an attempt to save Harry; that is part of the reason he still lives. But that blood bond's power keeps Harry safe when he is at his mother's relatives' home. He must go there for at least some time. At the very least until you find a home."

"But Black doesn't have to find a home," Snape intervened, knowing very well he'd probably end up regretting this. "He and Harry can come live with me. For that matter, Lupin can tag along as well."

"Er… see?" Black decided not to question Snape's motives. "It'll be fine!"

Dumbledore frowned. "The blood bond keeps Harry safe at the Dursleys' home."

"I do not like that implication," Black huffed. Belatedly Snape realized that as the official owner of the potential home he was part of that unwelcome implication so he added, "Any of us- Black, Lupin, or I- would lay down our lives for Harry. Admittedly I would do it for a reason different than they, but it'd be just as strong."

"The blood bond charm makes such sacrifices unneeded."

"He's my GODSON. I'm going to be a proper guardian at last, and not even you Dumbledore can stop me!" Black snapped. Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, looking at a determined Black from over his half-moon spectacles.

"I can see no point in trying no further… perhaps at least an afternoon's visit to ensure that Harry has all of his things from his relatives would be better than nothing…"

"That sounds reasonable," Snape acknowledged. It would be interesting at least to see Petunia again after all these years. Black grumbled, "Fine."

Dumbledore stated calmly, "Now that that has been sorted out, perhaps Snape you could go make up a guest chamber for Sirius while I contact the Ministry?"

Grimly the two black-haired men left. Keeping an eye on the quelled Pettigrew Dumbledore began a long night.

Meanwhile Harry Potter had sat straight up in his bed in the infirmary wing. Ron was already conked out, his leg already on the mend, but Hermione sat half-way up.

"What is it, Harry?"

"Now that Sirius is free do you think I'll get in trouble for what I did for Marge?"

"Doubtful; I think there's a statute of limitations on such matters," Hermione assured Harry as she laid back down for sleep.

Lying down, Harry stared out the window. It all seemed like a dream, yet better than a dream at the same time. He wouldn't have to live with the Dursleys anymore; he would live with his godfather. Across the sky shot a shooting star. But tonight Harry didn't make a wish.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm back again… this shall get out there in terms of not following canon and in theories. Hopefully by the end of this chapter we'll be on the Hogwarts Express, yes? Or beyond. This fanfic will feature 'nicer/redeemable' Snape as well as 'NOT cabin-fevered Sirius'. Alas 'too old too poor too dangerous' Lupin will be in effect… perhaps sooner than you think.

I do NOT own Power- Harry Potter, yeah, Harry Potter. Sorry, old habit, wot!

* * *

**Chapter Two: None of the adults knew how to respond to that so they just kept eating.**

Harry Potter woke up in a bed in the infirmary wing. Putting on his glasses he wondered if last night had been a dream. Then he saw Hermione's beaming face in the bed across from his.

"Good morning, Harry."

"Good morning, Hermione."

Madame Pomfrey bustled in, and clearing the two of them for return to Gryffindor tower. The still-sleeping Ron needed to remain though. Dressed in the fresh Hogwarts uniforms Madame Pomfrey had provided Harry and Hermione started out.

"I wonder how we'll explain everything…" mused Hermione as they went up a flight of stairs. "I mean, some of what happened is extraordinary."

"Potter, I need a word with you," came Snape's voice from the top of the stairs. The Potions master was dressed in his standard black attire, and seemed to be in his usual sour mood. Upon reaching him the two teens halted. He eyed Granger.

"Did I say Granger? You are free to go."

"You can get a heads start on the explanations," Harry suggested. Slightly biting her lower lip Hermione left. Resigned Harry faced Professor Snape.

"Yes?"

"Yes, sir," Snape corrected Potter out of habit. Before Potter could retort Snape found himself amending his own statement. "Well, I suppose you won't be calling me sir over the summer, now will you?"

"Huh?"

"Your current expression looks _so_ intelligent," Snape observed sardonically. While Potter struggled to rearrange his features he continued, "I have offered Black the usage of my house for the two of you (and perhaps Lupin as well) for the summer. Other than a brief trip to your aunt and uncle's for anything you left behind, you will be living there."

Then Potter did something that took Snape by surprise. He hugged him.

"This is going to be totally wicked!" Potter beamed. Remembering himself, he stepped back with his cheeks flaming. Feeling rather odd Snape commented, "Well, that is all. Go on and brag to your little friends about last night's adventure."

"Thank you, Snape!" Potter shouted as he dashed off. Severus Snape was officially disturbed; it couldn't be that on the inside Potter took after Lily… right?

He went off to Lupin's office, where the werewolf seemed to be in the process of packing. He wore a tired brown suit complete with tie. His grey-streaked brown hair was extra limpid in the morning after the full moon. His brown-grey eyes flicked to Snape's brown-black ones.

"Morning, Snape."

"Lupin."

After a minute Lupin answered the unasked question. "Last night was… too close of a call. Besides, I just don't know… how will the students feel about me if they learn that I'm a werewolf?"

Snape realized to his disturbance that until last night he would have revealed the truth to everyone without a pang. Perhaps he was just as bad as the elder Potter. But hiding this, he said blandly, "Why, Lupin, I didn't know you were so sensitive…"

"Be quiet, Snape," Lupin grumbled, waving a shelf of books into an open trunk. "You know how it is. Most of us can't even help it… if we could, there'd be a lot less werewolves."

"Mm…" Snape continued, "I might not particularly care for you, Lupin, but I will say that having a fellow professor around my age was a nice feeling. It gets tiring, being the youngest."

Lupin laughed, "Are we actually having this conversation? Besides, it's too late. I already turned in my resignation to Dumbledore."

"Well, perhaps this year will be my lucky year," Snape shrugged. "I suppose you heard?"

"About your unexpected generosity? Yes, and thank you."

"Nonsense; I simply don't want you two to corrupt young Potter any more than he already is."

"Ah."

Snape got the distinct impression Lupin was hiding a smile. Snape commented, "It's not an especially impressive house but it will suffice."

"It'll be better than anything I've lived in since my parents' home," Lupin stated matter-of-factly. Snape couldn't refute that, knowing what kind of lives werewolves lived.

A minute of silence was broken by Sirius' entrance. Since last night he had taken a bath, trimmed his lank hair, and had been given new rust brown robes. Cheerily he commented to Lupin, "Did you hear, Moony? We're going to be staying with Snape here!"

"Moony…" it dawned upon Snape. The other two men smiled sheepishly. Snape just muttered, "I should have known. You're Padfoot then, Pettigrew is Wormtail, while Potter was Prongs."

"Yes," Sirius sighed, deflating at the thought of his best friend. Making a visible effort to perk up he commented, "Well, I've been cleared of all charges. I think the Ministry is grateful that I'm not suing them."

Lupin shook his head in resigned amusement. "Padfoot…"

"You know, I don't think we got around to telling Harry that part of the story last night," Sirius mused. "We ought to tell him soon…"

Lupin looked at the now-blank map on his desk. "Indeed."

"I'd think we ought to tell him stories about our pranks, hm? To even it out Snape can tell stories about how he and his lot got back at us…"

"Potter isn't one for pranks," Snape had to point out. "Trouble and cheek, most certainly. But pranks?"

"We'll just have to teach him then," Sirius hand-waved the matter. "And yes, that includes you Snape."

Snape did not know how to feel about that arrangement! Curiously Sirius asked, "So how much longer until the end of the term?"

"Not much longer; exams are over with," Lupin noted, resuming his packing. Sirius looked over at Snape in puzzlement. Succinctly he explained, "Lupin resigned this morning; partly out of genuine concern of hurting someone and partly out of irrational fear of his lycanthropy coming out."

"His furry little problem," Sirius corrected Snape. "That's what we always called it."

"Of course you did."

Lupin lifted his eyes to the ceiling. "You two are going to drive me insane by summer's end."

Both glowered at the werewolf. Quietly Sirius observed, "It'll be nice to finally really get to know my godson."

"I would like to get to know Harry better too," Lupin admitted. Snape conceded, "I might have to tweak my perceptions of the young Potter."

"He's not Prongslet!" Sirius sighed wearily. Then he looked thoughtful. "Prongslet. Then again, that's a good nickname for Harry, don't you think, Moony? And if you ever have a kid-"

"Me?"

"I can call him or her Moony-lite!" Sirius continued without heeding Remus. "And of course on the off chance I have a kid we can nickname him or her Padfootsie!"

"Prongslet I can live with, even Moony-lite. But Padfootsie?" Snape raised his eyebrows. Sirius pursed his lips. "You might have a point. I'll have to think about it…"

"So help us," Lupin murmured. Snape permitted himself a smirk. Maybe these two weren't so bad after all as Black started to badger Lupin about what was so bad about either of them having a child. At length Snape just slipped out as the two continued debating earnestly.

Soon it was the day the Hogwarts students left the castle for the summer holidays. The students had all received their exam results, most of them being reasonably pleased with the results. Lupin had already left the grounds, especially as he said he had to get his own affairs in order if he was to live with three black-haired nutcases. Neither Black, Snape, nor Potter was amused. After breakfast Black told Harry apologetically, "The first night you'll have to spend with your Muggle relatives, I'm afraid. Snape, Lupin, and I will pick you around nine in the morning, all right?"

Harry just beamed back. "All right."

Nonetheless Harry looked wistfully back at the castle as it disappeared from sight. From behind a book Hermione said, "Cheer up, Harry. I have no doubt this summer will be a good one."

"Or as good as it can be with Snape around," Ron noted darkly. But Harry simply shrugged. "Even Snape is better than the Dursleys."

Ron snorted to show his opinion of that. Curiously he asked, "Hermione?"

"Hm?"

"How were you getting to all those classes of yours?"

"It doesn't matter anymore… I've dropped Divination and Muggle Studies so that I'll have a normal schedule next year. So don't worry about it, Ron."

Ron looked put out. But cheering up he commented, "Hey, Harry, Dad usually gets tickets to the Quidditch World Cup from work- do you want to come with us?"

"I think it'll depend on how things are going at home," Harry replied, ruffling his untamable hair. "I mean, I want to get to know Padfoot and Moony… I bet they know lots of stories about my mum and dad!"

"Maybe you could play Quidditch in the summer for once," Ron commented hopefully. That reminded Harry; he turned to Hermione and apologized. Peering at him from over her book she questioned, "What for?"

"You were right; Sirius did send me the Firebolt. But he hadn't jinxed it!"

"I know that now," Hermione sighed. "But I really did think-"

"I know; sorry. Plus you _did_ have the gist of the idea."

"Yeah, sorry," Ron chimed in. Hermione blushed from the attention. "It's quite all right now; I do have your best interests at heart, you know."

"Yes, death now outranks expulsion," Ron teased her. With a sniff Hermione returned to her book. As they left the platform Ron said hopefully, "Contact me about the Cup, all right, Harry?"

"All right," Harry beamed happily as the trio split up the summer. Not even approaching Uncle Vernon could spoil his good mood. As they walked back to the car the large, mustached man questioned the teenage boy harshly, "Why are you in such a good mood?"

"Because I'm going to be picked up tomorrow. You should be happy too; you won't have to deal with me for the rest of the summer."

Uncle Vernon snorted. "Who'd want you?"

"My godfather, a friend of my dad's, and a professor of mine."

"Huh. More of your kind then."

"Yes," Harry beamed up at his discomfited uncle.

After the Aunt Marge incident last summer Harry had left with what he had thought were all of his belongings. However once back in his 'bedroom', he had found a few odds and ends that had been left behind in the rush last summer. Below Dudley was sulking fiercely while Aunt Petunia tried to reassure him. Apparently it could no longer be denied- Dudley's weight had increased to the point where Smeltings didn't have a uniform in his size. So a new regime of food was being embarked upon. Now Harry was doubly grateful that he'd be leaving tomorrow.

Early that morning Harry double-checked his trunk and room to make sure he had brought everything; he had. So then he brought his stuff downstairs. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were all at the table eating grapefruit for breakfast. Harry got the smallest quarter, which he didn't mind. He'd be having lunch with Sirius, Lupin, and Snape.

Five minutes after nine an elderly station wagon wheezed its way to the front of Privet Drive, parking in front of the Dursleys' house. Snape got out from the driver's seat while Lupin had claimed shotgun with Sirius in the back. Harry was mildly surprised to see that all three were wearing Muggle clothes quite naturally- Snape in a black sweater and slacks, Lupin in another tired brown suit, and Sirius in a red T-shirt and jeans. He waved to them from the front door.

"Hello!"

"Hello!" Sirius waved back. Snape eyed the house unpleasantly as Harry dragged out his trunk and Hedwig's cage. Rapidly he said, "Here's all my stuff, we can go right away… I said good-bye to my aunt and uncle already…"

"You forget yourself, Potter. I would like to speak to Petunia before we depart."

Harry hadn't even known Snape knew his aunt's name. So he stared at Snape. "What?"

With an eye-roll Snape went into the house. Sirius scratched the back of his head. "I guess we'd better follow him."

But first Lupin loaded the trunk in the trunk while Harry placed Hedwig in her cage on the back seat. When they entered the kitchen they realized that in their short delay Snape and Sirius had somehow managed to completely terrorize the Dursley family. Harry groaned, "Didn't you guys hear? He didn't actually kill anyone."

"Yet," Sirius pointed out. This made Lupin close his eyes tiredly. Snape observed sourly, "Well then we'll just be going then. Have a nice summer."

Aunt Petunia sniffed haughtily. Awkwardly Harry said, "Well, good-bye then."

The three Dursleys all ignored him. His shoulders tense Harry left the house, followed by three wizards who were working on being in denial about the scene they had just witnessed.

Snape drove for a while, ending up in what looked like a fairly troubled area called Spinner's End. At the end of the street was a miserable two-story house with a yard of weeds and yellowing grass. Nonetheless Harry loved it on sight- mostly because it was the opposite of the prim and tidy Privet Drive house, but partly because at last he would be free from the Dursleys. He hopped out of the car, Hedwig's cage in hand, even before Snape had pulled in properly alongside the sidewalk. Harry dashed up to the dark brown door before realizing he didn't have a key. So he looked back at the three adult wizards.

"He's acting like Lily on the first night at Hogwarts," muttered Snape under his breath, wishing that it wasn't so, while Lupin and Black got out Harry's trunk. So he got out the key and unlocked the door, mentally preparing himself for a range of insults to hit him about the state of his home as he led them into his sitting room. The walls were hidden behind crammed bookshelves and his sparse pieces of furniture were threadbare. The only light came from a candle-filled lamp from the ceiling.

"Padfoot and I moved in last night," Lupin broke the silence, placing his half of Harry's trunk on the floor. "Snape gave us the two spare bedrooms so I'm not quite sure where-"

Snape pointed his wand at the back wall, revealing with a bang a narrow staircase. Tartly he said, "There's a small set of chambers up there, Potter. I'm sure they're not up to your standards but they will have to suffice."

With a quick nod Harry grabbed an end of his trunk and began to drag it up the stairs with Hedwig's cage in his other hand. Sirius noted, "He's being a tad quiet."

"Not all of us are as noisy as you," Lupin noted. Sirius very maturely blew a raspberry at the werewolf. Snape sighed, "I'll go make lunch."

"Right-o, Sevy boy."

Snape gave Black a very long look before stalking off to the adjoining kitchen. There he made spaghetti and meatballs, complete with warming sauce on the ancient stove/oven combination. Then he used the Sonorus charm, keeping his wand pointed at the side of his own neck.

"LUNCHEON!"

Sirius skidded into the kitchen, falling flat on his bottom due to the sleek linoleum floor. The expression on the wizard's face was priceless so Snape smirked down at him.

"Serves you right."

Sirius gaped up at him. Mindlessly he observed, "It is scary how much you look like Prongs at this moment."

"Take that back!"

"Not when it's true," Sirius sulked. Snape glowered. "For that you can set the table for four."

With a dark look aimed at the Potions master Black did so with a wave of his wand, the plates and pewter silverware clattering crossly onto the round oaken table. Snape just rolled his eyes, grateful he had been smart enough to not wear an apron. Merlin knows what would have happened if Black had seen him in an apron… nothing good for either of them.

A moment later, his nose in a book, Lupin appeared. Snape sighed, "Lupin, did I give you permission to read my books?"

"Erm…" A flushed Lupin closed the book. Snape retorted, "Well, at long as you don't ruin them it'll be fine."

"Thank you; sorry about not asking it just looked so fascinating…"

Before Lupin could complete his sheepish apology Harry ran into the room, making the exact same mistake as his godfather. However he collided with Sirius mid-slide. Snape exhaled. "I knew I was going to regret this…"

Bemused Lupin hauled the pair up by the backs of their shirts.

"Behave you two. It's time for lunch."

"Food!" beamed Sirius. Harry just looked an odd assortment of emotions. Snape dished out the spaghetti and meatballs and they began to eat.

Curiously Black asked, swallowing, "So does this mean a truce?"

"I suppose so," Snape sighed. "Just don't call me Snivellus."

Dubiously Harry commented, "You don't look like a Snivellus, Snape."

None of the adults knew how to respond to that so they just kept eating.


	3. Chapter 3

Greetings from Pink Wolf Princess! 

I do NOT own HP; otherwise far fewer people would have died. Things will be getting more and more off the canon track as time goes on- just giving you fair warning. So any characters being OOC are a combination of this being AU and me messing with them. :D

* * *

**Chapter Three: And the trio began to plan a large-scale prank as the evening faded into night.**

It took exactly four days for the trio to realize that something off was going on with Harry Potter. After a luncheon of PB&J sandwiches Potter had retreated back to his secluded quarters to resume his summer homework. Considering how on occasion he went to Lupin for assistance they knew he was really doing it. So the three wizards sat at the kitchen table; while Lupin sipped his warm tea Snape had a bottle of butterbeer and Black had gotten a can of Muggle soda from Snape's fridge. So far no duels had erupted, mostly because Lupin and Black had been spending most of their time catching up while Snape worked on his potions in the basement.

"I have to admit, Potter isn't being as troublesome as I thought he would be," Snape conceded. "Perhaps he's just not used to living with you two yet?"

"And you," Lupin reminded him. "Perhaps… I don't ever recall James or Lily acting this quiet."

"I remember a time when I acted rather like Harry is now," Sirius noted, sipping his soda. His eyes narrowing he growled, "But if that's what's wrong with Harry…"

"It couldn't be that bad," Snape refuted. But Black's face was bleak. "Oh, but it was. I was a couple of years older than Harry at the time."

All the color drained from Lupin's face. "Wait… no! No, I refuse to believe that. Harry just needs some time to adjust, that's all. You're overreacting, Padfoot."

"For Harry's sake I hope I am."

Snape looked back and forth between the two but they refused to resume that particular conversation to his great annoyance.

That evening Snape had made a cheese pizza with pineapple chunks on it for dinner for no real reason other to annoy Black because he knew Black loathed pineapple. And Black's vague comments after lunch had aggravated him because they had made no sense!

Like all major happenings it had started out small. They had been eating their slices of pizza (Black disgustedly picking off the pineapple) when Lupin asked, "Snape, do you have a house elf?"

"What?"

"Well, that or there's been an upswing in house cleaning spells."

All three men noticed Potter's fixed expression on his pizza slice. Snape eyed the teenager doubtfully. "What did you do, Potter?"

Potter flushed and mumbled something under his breath. Snape sighed, "You really shouldn't mumble, Potter."

Potter just hunched down, having finished his piece of pizza. Black plopped a second piece onto his godson's plate. "Really, Harry, you need to eat more if your metabolism is anything like your father's."

"Or his mother's," Snape interjected quietly. Lupin was busy chewing, but he seemed on edge slightly. Warily Potter began eating his second piece of pizza. Snape realized that Potter always needed pushed to have second servings- and usually his first servings weren't all that large. That didn't quite account for his eating habits at Hogwarts. Something was indeed 'up' with Potter, and as one of his three new guardians it was partially Snape's responsibility to figure it out. How lovely.

So he sighed, "What is it, Potter?"

"Nothing!"

Lupin and Black exchanged a doubtful look. Snape drawled, "And that's why you've been acting so oddly of late?"

"Er…" Potter refused to meet any of their eyes. Black frowned, "Prongslet?"

"It's nothing," Potter insisted, immediately biting into his pizza to delay further questioning. Black and Lupin had insisted on using 'Prongslet' as a nickname for Potter. Snape sighed, "I am a legilimens, Potter. Don't make me use it."

"Huh?"

"Basically he can read your mind," Black replied through a mouthful of pizza. Potter looked suitably disturbed- or maybe his expression had been brought on by his godfather's eating habits. Of course, Snape decided it might be a combination of the two. Lupin suddenly looked at his pizza slice like he had never seen one before. "Snape, I didn't know you could make pizza."

"So?"

"It's not a very wizardly food," Black clarified. "Trust me- I snuck in pizza to annoy my mother."

"So hex me, I grew up in a Muggle neighborhood," Snape snapped at the pair. Quietly Harry looked over at him. "Like me?"

There was a long pause.

"Yes. Now, Potter, what is wrong with you? Quiet and unobtrusive has not been your strong suit at Hogwarts."

Potter shrugged. Snape growled, "Potter."

"It's been great," the teen hurriedly assured them. He looked back and forth between the trio. "Why are you guys worried about me again?"

"Merlin, you don't get it, do you?" Black exhaled, fretful. "We're your guardians, Harry. We're supposed to worry about you, whether you need worried about or not."

"And right now you need worried over," Lupin added quietly. "So, Harry, have you been behind the sudden cleanliness of Snape's house?"

"Maybe," he muttered. Snape's eyebrows went up. "Why?"

"Well," Potter replied, discomfited, "they were all chores I did at the Dursleys… was I doing them wrong?"

"No," Snape had to admit.

"Wait, you did all those chores at the Dursleys?" Black asked flatly. Potter nodded, "And some cooking."

"Are you serious?" frowned Snape at the boy, remembering the times he had shooed Potter out of the kitchen around mealtimes. He had thought Potter was looking for freebies… but something warned him that Potter was not lying. Trying to lighten the mood Black noted, "No, I'm serious."

Both Lupin and Snape gave Black a dour look. The former informed him, "That joke was old before we left Hogwarts…"

"I know but I haven't used it in twelve years; just bringing it out of the closet."

To fortify himself Lupin took a fourth piece of pizza. Snape complained, "Lupin, you're going to eat half the pizza by yourself at this rate."

"A high metabolism is a side effect of being a werewolf," Lupin acknowledged with a sheepish smile. With a frown he stated, "But back to Harry."

Potter looked stressed. "What about me?"

"Why did you do all those chores at the Dursleys?" Lupin pressed.

"Because they told me to. Mostly Aunt Petunia."

"What chores did Dudley do?" Black questioned. Potter's snort was answer enough. Dubiously Snape asked, "So while you worked like a house elf your Muggle cousin did no chores?"

"Sounds like my house," Black grumbled. His eyes turning towards his godson he questioned, "Anything else that needs said?"

Potter just shook his head. Black asked, "Are you sure?"

"Well… I did do a bit of accidental magic last summer… I didn't get in trouble because everyone was worried about you coming after me. But can I get in trouble now?"

"Doubtful," Lupin assured him. "But what did you do?"

"I blew up my aunt."

It was more the matter-of-fact way that Potter said that statement even more than the actual words that had the three wizards gaping.

"Well, really I inflated her… but I didn't mean to! I suppose part of me just snapped when she called my mom a bitch."

"WHAT?" an outraged Snape shouted. Lupin and Black's jaws were dropped in shock. Potter hurriedly amended, "Well, she's a dog breeder, you see, so she was making a metaphor that if something was wrong with the bitch then there'd be something wrong with the pup- me. Plus she called my dad a good-for-nothing and suggested they were drunk when they died because Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon say my parents died in a car crash since they can't say they're wizards."

"Well, better that than murdered by a psycho," Black had to admit. Lupin frowned, "And when did they tell you the truth about your parents' deaths, Harry?"

"Oh, they didn't. Hagrid did."

Snape rested his head in his hands. "Why oh why did you have to inherit your mother's way of telling stories disjointedly?"

"Um."

"Anything else you want to tell us, Prongslet?" an amused Black asked. Thoughtfully Potter agreed, "Lots. The Philosopher's stone, Norbert, the Chamber of Secrets, that time I accidentally freed a giant snake at the zoo, how I became Seeker on the Quidditch team, the troll incident on Halloween… um, Snape? Since these are all past adventures you can't get me in trouble for them, right?"

"What would be the point?" Snape sighed. "You forgot about the flying car though."

"Oh yeah- plus the giant spiders!"

"Giant spiders?" Black yelped. "Those monsters are still in the forest?"

"Uh-huh. And centaurs and unicorns- but I only saw a dead one."

"A dead centaur?" Lupin asked dazedly. Potter shook his head, saying, "No, a dead unicorn."

"I remember that. I don't think they ever caught who was doing it though," Snape mused. Potter argued, "It was Quirrell and Riddle."

"Huh?" went Lupin and Black. Snape explained, "Quirrell was the Defense teacher in Harry's first year but who is Riddle?"

"That's Voldemort's real last name."

"Odd," Lupin frowned. "I recall an old murder involving a Muggle family named Riddle-an older couple and their adult son. A Muggle-hater named Gaunt was convicted, although the groundskeeper insisted he saw a teenage boy hanging around the time of the murder rather than any adult."

"Fair skin, curly black hair, not bad-looking?"

"Er, yes."

"Teenage Voldemort," Potter stated knowingly. Black shuddered. "Not a pleasant thought."

"No. It must have been him… he said his Muggle father was named Riddle…"

Black let out a bark of laughter at that. "The feared pure-blood supremacist is a half-blood?"

Potter looked wry. "Uh-huh, he told me so… his mother was a pure-blood but she died giving birth to him so he was raised in an orphanage. His dad had left before he was born."

Snape was quiet. The Dark Lord's childhood was starting to sound like his own- not a pleasant thought. Finishing his third piece of pizza Black suggested, "How about we finish eating, clean up, and go into the library to discuss your first two years?"

"All right," Potter conceded awkwardly. The plates left to soak in the soak, the quartet moved into the library. Snape took the armchair, Potter sat cross-legged on the floor, and Black and Lupin sat on the couch.

Quietly he began. "I suppose I ought to start with the first letter from Hogwarts."

"The first?" puzzled Lupin. Potter smiled. "You'll see."

So Potter explained how more and more letters kept coming when the Dursleys wouldn't let him open one, although there was a moment of stunned silence when the truth about Potter's long term sleeping arrangement came out. But Potter skimmed over that to get to the 'road trip', and then to Hagrid's arrival. Through numerous interruptions from all sides as well as some backtracking Potter told them all about his first three years at Hogswarts. At the end Black said enviously, "How did you manage to pack in more adventures in your first three years than we did in seven?"

Lupin looked at Black askance.

"Pranks don't count, Moony."

"Ah."

Snape shook his head. "Potter."

Harry looked tired. "I have to wonder what on Earth can happen this upcoming year…"

"Whatever it is, it'll give me grey hairs," predicted Black. Tartly Lupin demanded, "What's wrong with having grey hairs?"

"Uh…"

"You two are going to give me grey hairs," Snape grumbled. Getting to his feet Potter requested, "I really ought to send letters to Hermione and Ron. Can I go now?"

"Yes," Black nodded. So with a wave of his wand Snape revealed the passage up to Potter's chambers. Once the teen was gone Lupin smiled coldly, raising his hand.

"All for revenge on the Dursleys?"

"Yep… I don't think Harry even told us a tenth of what he went through," Black growled, raising his hand as well. Snape had to agree, raising up his hand, "No one should be treated that way- not even Potter. And Petunia knows perfectly well where Platform 9 ¾ is- she was just messing with his head."

And the trio began to plan a large-scale prank as the evening faded into night.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back, still not owning Harry Potter or anyone/anything connected to him. Well, save for magical items/creatures in the public domain. We all own unicorns! Muh hah ha ha!

REVISION: I am very ashamed of myself. I used the wrong year to mark the full moons so I'm doing a revision of all full moonyness. Please forgive me.

* * *

**Chapter Four: That had to count for something.**

The next morning Snape was making blueberry pancakes even before the sun rose. Last night had given him a lot to think about. It seemed that Black, Lupin, or Potter were not as horrid as he had believed. And, if he had to be honest with himself, Snape had to admit he had never given the younger Potter a fair chance. If a professor had treated him the way he treated Potter he would have hated that professor. So he had mainly himself to blame for Potter's treatment of him.

Furthermore it seemed that Dumbledore hadn't told Potter about the prophecy. Snape was unsure if he ought to tell Potter or not. Flipping a pancake, he decided to do so. Knowledge was power, after all, and Potter would need all the knowledge he could get in the battle against Lord Voldemort. Even Potter acknowledged that for the past three years he'd been more lucky than good in his little adventures.

Yet at the same time that would mean conceding his role in Lily's death, something he still had difficulty coping with every day. They would blame him, and justly so. Over the past few days the trio had brought a new sort of life to Snape's house and he didn't want it to go away.

His musings were broken by a knock at the back door. Hurriedly Snape finished up the latest pancake and turned off the stove before heading back to the mud room. Opening the door he saw no one there.

From the vicinity of his knees came a cough.

Snape looked down. On the welcome mat was a wide-eyed house elf in a pillowcase toga and mismatched socks. Having gotten his attention the house elf inquired, "Is Master Harry Potter here?"

"Yes… you must be Dobby. Come in."

The house elf teared up, wringing his hands. "Oh, how kind of you!"

"I am NOT kind," an indigent Snape grumbled. Dobby explained, "But Dobby cannot quite go in- Dobby cannot leave Buckbeak unattended."

A large mass in the shadows shifted at the sound of its name. Snape closed his eyes. He had a house elf and a hippogriff in his back yard. How could things possibly get worse?

"I suppose the hippogriff can come in as well… my house can't get that much more wrecked anyhow."

"Oh, thank you very much," Dobby beamed as he and the giant grey hippogriff made their way inside. Buckbeak made himself comfortable in the front sitting room, Dobby sat down at the kitchen table, and Snape resumed making blueberry pancakes.

Curiously Snape asked, "How did you know that Potter was here?"

"Dobby used house-elf magic. How is Master Harry Potter?"

"Rather well. Do you want a pancake while we wait for everyone else to get up?" Snape asked. Snape didn't mind being nice to house-elves; it was being nice to annoying fellow wizards that he had difficulty with. Dobby nodded happily once he recovered from the shock of having a wizard speak politely to him.

"Yes, please."

Snape got out a plate, a fork, and a partially cooled pancake, placing it before Dobby. As the house elf ate a rumpled Black entered the kitchen, blinking his grey eyes blearily.

"I must still be sleepy… I could have sworn that there's a hippogriff in the library."

"That's because there is a hippogriff in the library," Snape replied simply as he flipped the pancake. Black scratched the back of his head. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Can we keep the hippogriff?" Before Snape could answer Black did a double take. "Wait... there's a house elf eating a pancake at the table, there's a hippogriff in the library, and to top it off you of all people are making pancakes and wearing an apron. Well, this is a nice change in dreams."

Snape looked down at himself. He was wearing a dull grey apron over his black sweater and black slacks. Great. Black would never let him live this down- once he was fully awake.

"So… anyway, can we keep the hippogriff?"

"His name is Buckbeak. I'm not sure that we can. Perhaps we could give him to the Weasleys?"

Black yawned. "Can I have a pancake?"

"Help yourself."

Sleepily Black got out a plate and piled onto it three pancakes. Plopping into a chair he rolled up the top one like a burrito before biting into it. Snape just rolled his eyes as he poured the batter for yet another pancake. The window perpendicular to the sink was showing a hint of light on the horizon; soon Lupin and Potter would be awakening as well. Snape tried not to sigh; this was not how he had foreseen spending his summer holiday at all.

The sun was barely up when Lupin made his way downstairs, tying his tie in one of his weary brown suits as he did so.

"Morning, Padfoot. Morning, Snape. Morning… er, excuse me, but who are you?"

"This is Dobby; remember Harry telling us about him last night?" Snape informed Lupin as he placed a pair of pancakes on a plate. As he handed over the plate he continued, "He came by to say hello and drop off a hippogriff."

Dobby nodded, adjusting his tea cozy hat. Lupin peered into the library to verify Snape's story before taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Very well then. Should one of us go get Harry up?"

"Can Dobby do it?"

"Um, okay," Black shrugged. Hastily the house elf finished his pancake before disappearing, presumably to upstairs. Two minutes later there was a faint thump from Potter's chambers.

"I think Potter is awake," Snape noted as he removed a pancake from the pan to the plate. Black retorted, "You think?"

Still in his oversized pajamas Potter followed Dobby into the kitchen. With a tired but pleased smile he told the house elf, "Thanks for rescuing Buckbeak… how did you know?"

"The owl of Harry Potter got Dobby!"

"Hedwig? Wow. I need to give her a tasty treat when she comes back from delivering Hermione and Ron's letters…"

"Indeed. She is a clever owl."

"I know," Harry smiled happily. Then he noticed: "Pancakes!"

Snape handed over a plate with two pancakes on it. "Here you go, Potter."

"Thanks… do you have any maple syrup?"

"No."

"Oh," went Harry as he took the final seat. Black stood up, stretching. "You can have my seat, Sevy boy. I'm done eating."

"I'm not," Lupin noted as he sliced up a pancake. Snape puzzled, "Isn't that your seventh pancake, Lupin?"

The werewolf grumbled, "How many times do I have to go over this- as a werewolf I have a high metabolism."

"I know, but still," Snape shook his head in disbelief as he turned off the stove. As he took off his apron he asked, "So, what to do about the hippogriff?"

Getting out the orange juice from the fridge Black commented hopefully, "I thought we were going to keep him?"

"No," stated Lupin and Snape, who then looked at one another in surprise. The former noted, "It wouldn't be fair for Buckbeak to be kept here."

"I suggest the Weasleys; the Burrow in the countryside. The hippogriff should be happy there," Snape stated. Potter beamed. "Cool! Let's take him over."

"First eat your breakfast," Snape informed him absently as he sat down at Black's vacated seat with a plate of three pancakes. Potter nodded sheepishly, then paused. He looked over at Snape with those eyes that were far too much like Lily's. Crossly Snape stated, "I just don't want the pancakes to be wasted."

"Right," a reassured Potter replied. Dobby's ears twitched. "Ah… the Wheezies! Dobby likes the Wheezies!"

Black snorted as he put away the orange juice carton. "Never heard that one before."

"Neither have I," Lupin agreed. Snape just put a piece of pancake in his mouth as to not make a comment. A large tawny owl appeared at the sink window, tapping on the pane. Black opened the window to allow it to fly in. Giving Snape an official-looking envelope the owl then flew off. Curiously Potter asked, "Who's it from?"

"The Ministry…"

Black growled. "Those gits?"

"Padfoot, be nice," Lupin reprimanded the other wizard, but his own face was dark. "Go ahead and read it, Snape."

Pushing his plate back slightly Snape did so. "How odd. Apparently an Auror is coming on the fourteenth to make sure we're keeping the Boy Who Lived in one piece."

Black frowned, "This can't be good."

"Why?" Snape looked over at Black, too curious to make a cutting remark. Black noted, "They might be checking to see if we're suitable guardians for Harry- a known if former Death Eater, a werewolf, and a wizard who spent the last twelve years in Azkaban."

"I hate it when you make sense; but we can't be worse than Harry's Muggle relatives," Snape argued. "Still, sending an Auror to check in on us seems peculiar… I suppose we'll learn more on the fourteenth."

Lupin looked sour. "It can't end well."

Looking to change the subject Harry asked Dobby, "So, Dobby, what have you been up to?"

Dobby looked despondent. "Most wizards do not want a free house elf working for them. Dobby cannot find work."

"That's horrible, Dobby!" a stricken Potter exclaimed. Dobby perked up, saying, "It is better than working for the Malfoys!"

"True…"

Lupin and Black looked over at Snape, who sighed. "No."

"Aw, come on. He's adorable," Black argued.

"No."

"How bad could it be?"

"I said no."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No- this is exactly why I had reservations about having you two in my house!"

Black maturely stuck his tongue out at the irate other wizard. Harry perked up. "Wait- Dobby here?"

Dobby perked up. "Dobby just wants a day off a month and a sickle a week!"

"You want paid?" Lupin puzzled. Dobby nodded fervently. Snape thought it over. "Well, it's better than worrying about Potter doing all the chores. I've never had a house-elf before."

"Dobby seems loads better than Kreacher," Black helpfully pointed out. Snape frowned, "Regulus liked Kreacher, or so he told me."

"He also liked our parents. He had issues." Black seemed almost wistful in his offhand reference to his baby brother, but Snape decided he was giving Black too much credit. Still he sighed, "All right, Dobby, you can work here. The terms seem acceptable to me."

Dobby beamed widely, and Potter grinned, "Thanks, Snape! Maybe you're not so bad after all."

"Funny; I was about to say the same to you, Potter."

Potter just leaned over to hug Dobby. "This is the best summer ever!"

"Harry, it just started," Lupin laughed. Potter shrugged, "It's still the best summer ever."

Black had volunteered to take Buckbeak over to the Burrow; Potter had wanted to go along but he still had some summer work left and besides none of the adult wizards were sure how Buckbeak would be received. Lupin had gone with Black to make sure he behaved himself. Dobby was off settling in; where, Snape, didn't know.

Down in the basement Snape was working on a Wolfsbane potion for the upcoming full moon. When he stopped to let it simmer, he noticed Potter sitting quietly on one of the bottom steps. Sharply he asked, "What, Potter?"

"It's getting to be around lunch time," Potter stated simply. "I was wondering if you wanted me to cook, if you wanted to cook, or if we should let Dobby do it."

"I suppose we could make sandwiches for lunch," Snape conceded as he washed his hands. "We'd best head upstairs."

"Right," Potter nodded, getting to his feet. Today he wore a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized orange T-shirt. Caustically Snape had to ask, "Why must you always dress so awkwardly, Potter?"

Potter looked down at himself. "Oh, these are Dudley's hand-me-downs."

"Why are you wearing your cousin's hand-me-downs?"

"Because they're the only clothes I have," Potter shrugged as Snape walked over to the base of the stairs. Snape frowned, "You only have your cousin's old clothes to wear?"

"Besides my school robes, yeah," Potter admitted. Then defensively he added, "But I don't see where it's any of your business- Padfoot is my godfather, not you!"

Snape raised his hand to rub a temple; Potter clearly had his mother's temper. In the process of doing so, however, he paused. Potter had flinched when he had raised his hand, and his eyes- so much like his mother's- were suddenly wide.

"Sorry, Snape," he gulped. Something rather cold settled in Snape's stomach. Someone had hurt Potter, most likely his Muggle relatives. To hide his turmoil he simply said harshly, "It's all right. Come on, I'm hungry. We need to go make those sandwiches."

As he followed Potter up the stairs, Snape knew he would have to speak to the other two about this matter.

It was early evening when Lupin and Black finally returned. Apparently Mrs. Weasley had insisted on mothering the pair for a while. Plus it had taken a while to drag Black away from the hippogriff. It figured.

Potter and Dobby had teamed up to make chicken noodle soup; Snape commented, "This isn't half-bad, Potter."

"Thanks; I got lots of cooking practice at the Dursleys," Potter acknowledged. Lupin half-teased the pair, "Well, then, why aren't you better at Potions? Apparently cooking and potion-making have a lot in common in Snape's mutual skills are any indication."

"In some ways," Snape had to concede, ignoring the little voice in his head that was commenting on the fact that like Potter he often did the cooking in his house. At least his mother had almost always protected him when his father had gotten violent- Potter hadn't had that. And it was his fault. That reminded Snape of his resolution to tell Potter, Lupin, and Black about the prophecy. That'd be a "fun" conversation. Nonetheless after dinner he got the trio into the library with him. Pacing he began.

"As you all know, I was once a Death Eater."

"And we weren't," Black noted. Lupin kicked him in the leg. "Padfoot!"

"What? I was being Sirius..."

The other two adult wizards gave the beaming wizard rather dour looks. Harry simply hid a smirk. Lupin just gestured, "Please continue, Snape."

"Very well. I was assigned to follow Dumbledore… one night I followed him to an interview with a candidate for the Divination post…"

Lupin let out a low whistle. "Dumbledore mentioned that this was her second accurate prediction shortly before I left. You overheard the first, didn't you?"

Snape nodded curtly, pained. "I… I… relayed what I had heard to the Dark Lord, even though I hadn't heard the entire prophecy. If I had known what was to follow I wouldn't have."

"It contained the reason Voldemort went after Prongs and Lily," a sickened Black murmured. Snape shook his head. "No. It contained the reason Voldemort went after _Harry_."

Lupin's brow creased. "You're saying that Voldemort wasn't after James and Lily- he was after Harry?"

Snape nodded. "From I had heard it stated the requirements for the Dark Lord's possible arch-rival. There were two born who fit them; Voldemort picked Potter."

"Who was the other?" Black had to ask. Quietly Lupin stated, "Longbottom, obviously. Remember? Usually such prophecies include a set date of birth, and Longbottom is only a day older than Harry."

"Also both sets of couples had faced and escaped the Dark Lord three times, as said in the prophecy," Snape added bitterly. Potter looked at his hands in his lap. "That's why you hate Neville almost as much as you hate me. Because if Voldemort had picked Neville my mom would still be alive."

"Snape, you do realize what happened to Frank and Alice, don't you?" an incredulous Lupin demanded. Snape stared into the muted flames. "Yes."

Baffled, Potter questioned, "But I mean- why hasn't Dumbledore told me this?"

"I don't know," Snape admitted. "I just know that knowledge is power, and that you ought to have this knowledge if you're to have any chance of success with your record. But it does state that you both can't survive… one of you will have to die."

Black blanched. "I'm not losing Prongslet!"

Studying Snape closely Potter said, "Because you were the one who had given him this information about me- the one who could defeat him- you got Voldemort to agree to sparing my mom's life. You didn't care what happened to my dad-"

"To be fair, Prongs wouldn't care about Snape had their situations been reversed," Black interjected. With a lopsided smile Potter concurred, "I know. And it'd be pointless to try to spare me since I was the intended target. But you managed to get Voldemort to agree to sparing my mom's life."

"Not that it worked," Snape grumbled bitterly, looking away from Potter. Almost kindly Potter shook his head. "It would have worked… but my mom refused to let Voldemort kill me. He kept telling her to stand aside, but she wouldn't. It's my fault that she died, not yours."

Black commented, "That's right… the Dementors make you remember your worst memories… they make you remember that night?"

"Yes. Dad died first, trying to hold Voldemort off. Then he went after me and Mom."

"Why didn't he just Stun her then, or hex her, or anything besides KILLING Lily!" Snape raged, refusing to let any tears well up as he paced furiously. Softly, flatly Black stated, "If he was after Harry he didn't need to kill either of them. But he killed both of them. He's a twisted psycho with the power to do whatever the hell he wants."

"He did terrible yet great things," Potter echoed Mr. Ollivander. Soberly Lupin nodded. "Yes, precisely, Harry."

"I'm just quoting Mr. Ollivander. He said it, not me."

Snape looked back and forth between the trio. Almost belligerently he demanded, "Why aren't you blaming me for their deaths?"

"Please, Snape, it's not all about you. Anyway I'm more responsible than you. Even if you hadn't been the Death Eater assigned, _a _Death Eater would have overheard the prophecy. Besides, you didn't realize the consequences. I actively misplaced my trust; if I had been the Secret Keeper as planned it would have been a lot tougher for Voldemort to get to the Potters," Black stated savagely. "Besides, you clearly feel badly about it. Peter was just worried about being caught."

Snape collapsed into the armchair opposite Potter's. "Yes. I've lost Lily twice… both times were my fault."

"Oh?" Black commented distantly. Snape half-sneered at Black. "Well, you four had a role in it."

"Ah," Lupin looked shamefully. "I am sorry, Snape… I didn't like defying my friends…"

Black smacked his hand to his forehead. "Really, Moony? You could have kept us from being total gits quite a few times if you hadn't been so meek. We wouldn't have stopped being friends with you or publicly revealed your furry little problem if you stood up to us on occasion."

"I know," but Lupin's expression and tone stated otherwise. Black rolled his eyes. Potter looked troubled. "What happened?"

"In the heat of the moment I called Lily a 'mudblood'… it was the final straw… she wouldn't be my friend anymore…"

"That seems harsh," Potter frowned, dismayed. He had barely gotten used to the idea that his father had been more than a bit of a prat during his Hogwarts days, especially towards Slytherins. Snape shook his head. "I was already poking into the Dark Arts… hanging out with future Death Eaters…"

"Then why didn't you change into a wizard my mom would have wanted to be friends with?" Potter questioned. Snape's stomach turned into a knot. "I thought it was already too late… I just…"

"If my mom was as wonderful as you seem to think, she would have been more than willing to be friends with you again if you had straightened out," Potter stated firmly. "Clearly all Slytherins can't be all bad if she and you were good friends."

"Best friends," Snape corrected the teen wistfully. Potter's eyes widened as he realized something. "Is that why you and my dad hated each other? Because you both had crushes the same girl?"

"WHAT?" Snape yelled. Black admitted, "Prongslet has a point… Prongs did not like how close you and Lily were."

Snape blinked. Flatly he questioned, "The great James Potter was jealous of me?"

"Of course," Lupin smiled faintly. "You had the one thing he didn't but was the one thing he really wanted."

"Oh."

Potter ran a hand through his hair, further messing it up. "Well, I'm going to bed early. It's been a long day."

As Potter headed up the staircase revealed by a lazy swish of Lupin's wand Snape called after him. Potter turned to look back at his Potions master.

"Potter, tomorrow we're going clothes shopping."

"Why?"

"Well, there's no need for you to try to look like a gangster," Snape retorted sharply. With a grin Potter nodded before resuming his way upstairs. As the bookcase replaced itself Black looked over Snape.

"You're really a nice person, aren't you?"

"Shut up, Black. I need to tell you two something," Snape sighed as he flopped back in his chair. "Today, down in the basement, Potter had come to ask about lunch. He mouthed off a bit, I lifted my hand to rub my temple, and he flinched."

Black's eyes grew cold. "You mean that someone…"

"Yes. He wasn't acting either. Someone at some time physically hurt Potter- probably his Muggle relatives. We already know they emotionally abused him, why not physically abuse him as well?" Snape asked sardonically. Nauseated Lupin protested, "But they wouldn't do that to their own nephew."

Black and Snape, both having been abused by their own parents, gave the werewolf pitying looks. Lupin ran a hand through his limpid hair. "Merlin, no wonder Harry's been acting so tense. Should we do anything?"

"Let him come to us," Black decided. "It worked well enough for me and the Potters."

"Same with Lily and I; we can't push him," Snape found himself backing up Black. "Also, Lupin, I will be making Wolfsbane potion for you for the week preceding the full moon."

"Ah, thanks."

"It's no difficulty… especially as I do not want a feral werewolf in my house on the full moon."

Lupin made a slight face. "I do wish it tasted better."

"At least it exists," Black pointed out wryly.

"Touché."

Even though it was relatively early Snape soon found himself going to bed, leaving Black and Lupin playing wizard chess in the kitchen. The past few days had given him a little too much to think about.

Still, he didn't have any more regrets to add to his list yet. That had to count for something.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for reviewing: Azzy494, Luty Malfoy, ROSSELLA1, Loads of Randomness, Tonks-is-cool, and Eva9673.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. 

Also the POV will jump around a little (okay, somewhat) during this chapter. Plus this is a setting-up/padding chapter more than anything else. I hope you guys don't get too confused and/or aggravated. :(

However by the leap of logic I made in the previous author's note… WE ALL OWN WEREWOLVES! _**SQUEE!**_

Speaking of werewolves, still making full moon alternations.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Meanwhile Black had tried to enchant the mop to clean the floor, which was going as well as one would suspect.**

Early the next morning Snape was awakened by a crash downstairs. Followed by a second, and a third which was the loudest of all. Placing a pillow over his face he grumbled, "What in the name of Merlin did they do now?"

Muttering darkly to himself he rolled out of bed and pulled on a black bed robe over his green-grey pajamas. Kicking the matching slippers onto his feet Snape made his way into the hall. In a pile of the bottom of the stairs were the other three occupants of the house as well as three brown sleds.

"What are you three doing?"

Lupin looked over at Black. "I thought you had cast an Imperturbable charm on his door so he could sleep in?"

"It must have worn off…"

"Uh-huh."

"It must have!" a wounded Black insisted. "Really, Lupin, I don't not care for Snape that much."

Lupin raised his eyebrows. "So, you do care for Snape that much- which is to say, enough to not cast a proper Imperturbable charm on his bedroom."

Black just blew a raspberry at the other wizard. Snape sighed. "I need to go get dressed and have breakfast; then Potter and I need to go clothes shopping for him."

"Really? You were serious about that?"

"No, I'm- OW! Snape, Moony punched me!"

"It was a slap to the arm, and it could not have hurt that badly. Besides, you deserved it," Lupin rolled his eyes, but Black sulked anyway. Loudly griping about the absurdities _supposedly_ adult wizards got themselves into Snape retreated back into his bedroom.

Mentally he supposed that he and Potter would take the Floo to Diagon Alley, get some money from Potter's vault at Gringotts, and then go shopping for a combination of Muggle and wizarding clothes. Hopefully Black and Lupin wouldn't destroy the house while they were away.

The next few days remained relatively quiet, although a trip to Hogsmeade inevitably led Black and Lupin to Zonko's. Snape supposed the only reason he wasn't being pranked from dawn to dawn was that they were grateful for providing a house to live. Also they might have been concerned about the impeding full moon and thus not risking cutting off Lupin's Wolfsbane potion supply.

Potter was still far too quiet… Snape didn't like it. It wasn't the quiet before a prank as much as he might wish it to be; apparently Petunia was far more vindictive than he had ever imagined. But at least the clothes fit him now, even if they were rather vibrant colors. Still he was staying in touch with Granger and Weasley via Hedwig. Furthermore Potter could cook fairly well, but he only had rudimentary skills so Snape had taken it upon himself to make sure the first time Potter tried a complicated recipe he wouldn't end up killing anyone by mistake.

On the morn of the fourteenth, which was a cloudy and gloomy day, two wizards Apparated a short distance away from Snape's house at Spinner's End. One was a tall, sturdy man who looked to have been in a great many battles with various bits and pieces of him (most notably a leg replaced by a wooden peg) missing as well as numerous scars. He had on a brown fedora, covering one eye as well as wearing a thick brown trench coat. His companion was even odder in black combat boots, torn jeans, and a neon pink T-shirt that matched her pixie haircut. She was a young woman with a pretty heart-shaped face with big brown eyes.

"Tonks, change your hair."

"Why?" the woman protested as they began to walk towards Snape's house. "I mean, they're the ones who have to make a good impression on me."

"Tonks!"

Screwing up her face Tonks changed the color of her hair from neon pink to a vivid purple. And promptly tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. As she scrambled to her feet the man just looked down at her. With a grumble he stated, "That doesn't count."

"Aw, come on, Moody. Stop being so… well, moody," the woman smiled up at him. Moody just grumbled as he continued to trudge along, the woman a few paces behind him.

Out front of the battered house was Lupin, casually dressed in a beige sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, digging up a patch of the front yard for a garden. It was too late for most plants, but he was hoping to start the process with a slight crop of peapods. Moody rapped on the front gate. Gruffly he stated, "Tonks brought me along to make sure she went about this right."

Standing up, Lupin brushed off dirt onto his jeans. He smiled at Moody. "That sounds reasonable. So… oh, hello."

"Hi," Tonks managed. Even though his sandy brown hair was streaked through with grey, this wizard was extremely handsome. He also looked pretty fit as well as having warm tawny brown eyes. Pushing back a clump of her now-purple hair she inquired, "May we come in?"

"Oh, sure. You're early; we weren't expecting you for another half-hour."

"Blame Moody- constant vigilance!"

"Ah, of course," Lupin nodded as he led them to the cracked open front door. From within there came the noise of loud noises. Resigned Lupin closed his eyes.

"Why did they have to pick today of all days to start letting loose with the verbal barrages?"

"Er?" Tonks scratched the back of her head. "What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid that Sirius, James, Peter, and I got along horribly with Snape at Hogwarts… it's a habit that's been carried over to now."

"Then why live here?" Moody rumbled pushing up his fedora to reveal a large magical blue eye that mismatched with his other small brown one. Lupin shrugged. "Right now neither Black nor I have a lot of options… besides, Snape probably has his own reasons to make sure Harry makes it to adulthood. All right, let's go in."

Lupin led the pair into the kitchen, where a trail of muddy shoeprints tracked across an otherwise pristine floor. Snape, mop in hand, was yelling at Black who was yelling back. Potter was sitting on top of the kitchen table, his head going back and forth between the shouters as if watching a particularly fascinating game of catch. At length Black raised his hands up in exasperation.

"We're bloody wizards, Snape! Really, a wave of the wand and it'll be fixed!"

"It's the principle of the thing, Black," Snape retorted coldly. "Hard work ought to be its own reward; and furthermore I had told all of you that I would be cleaning the kitchen floor this morning during breakfast. Did you listen? NO!"

Here Potter impudently wiggled his socked feet. Black glowered over at his godson, saying, "You're not helping."

"I wasn't trying to," Potter managed to say between barely concealed laughs. Black growled and jerked the mop out of Snape's hand. Forcefully he dunked the mop into the tin bucket of soapy water next to Snape. Then he started to wipe at the muddy footprints, only succeeding in spreading around the dirt. Crossly he stopped and stared down at the swirled dirt on the floor.

"Huh? How do Muggles do this cleaning thing?"

With a laugh Potter hopped off the table and held out his hand.

"I can do it for you, Padfoot."

Black held the mop towards himself possessively. "I can do it!"

"No you can't," Potter smiled. Lupin stuck his hands into his jean pockets as he and the two visitors watched as the three-way debate get underway over who would clean the floor and how. After a few minutes Lupin coughed loudly.

"Guys, the Aurors are here."

Guiltily the trio jumped apart. Moody stomped in, plopping himself down at the kitchen table. Tonks opted to sit on the nearest clear counter instead while Lupin leaned against the doorframe. Cheekily Tonks inquired, "So besides the odd cleaning discussion how things are going?"

"All right," Black acknowledged. He looked over at Snape. "Anything you need or want to add?"

"You cannot sum everything up with an 'all right', Black," Snape griped.

"Yes I can."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can!"

"Guys," Lupin sighed, making Potter smile as he sat across from Moody. Snape frowned as he looked behind the pair of Aurors. "I thought there was going to be one Auror- that's what the letter said."

"Yes, well, I qualified literally less than a month ago so I figured it'd be for the best if I brought along a retired Auror to make sure I do this right."

"Me, in other words," Moody stated. His magical eye on Potter he stated, "I'm Alastor Moody, retired Auror. Dumbledore has talked me into being the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for a year- not that I'd stay any longer anyhow. So I'll be seeing a lot of Potter anyway this coming term. Over there is Tonks, newly made Auror."

"Any relation to Andromeda?" Black inquired curiously giving the female Auror a closer look. But at the same time Potter questioned, "Don't you have a first name?"

"It's Nymphdora but she hates it," Lupin volunteered. With a lopsided smile he commented, "I knew you looked familiar."

Tonks blushed slightly but focused on the task at hand. "But how-?"

"I'm your mum's cousin," Black admitted. "A few times before- before, well you know, I and my friends came over for visits. But really, you weren't even old enough for Hogwarts that last time."

"I might remember something; do you think that's why they picked me to visit? But I didn't know that… Mum doesn't like to talk about her family."

"I can't blame her, especially after it seemed that I'd gone to the Dark side as well."

"Focus," Moody snapped. "We're here about Potter."

"Hi," Potter shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Why did you guys have to come anyway?"

Tonks shrugged. "I don't know. I'm on the bottom rung of the political ladder so I have nothing besides my directions- make sure that you don't need sent back to your Muggle relatives for your own safety or whatever."

"What!" yelped Potter. At the same time the sink window noticeably cracked. Black, Lupin, Snape, and Moody exchanged dark looks. Moody frowned severely. "Only if these three aren't being proper guardians or if there's too much risk that we need to reinforce the blood bonds."

"It's not my home, Spinner's End is my home," Potter refuted flatly. Moody's magical eye swiveled over to the cracked window. "So it would seem."

Experimentally swishing the mop in the bucket Black asked, "But why worry when we're taking care of Harry and not when the Dursleys were?"

Tonks shrugged. "Again- I don't know. But really, Potter looks happy and healthy… despite us catching you all off guard."

Snape and Black glowered at one another. Lupin looked back and forth between the pair, pleading, "You two were doing so well until today."

Moody asked, "Potter, you doing well here?"

"I can do my homework in the open… they tell me about my parents… I don't have to do as many chores… I like it here."

Tonks beamed as she hopped down from the counter. "Well, so far so good! Thanks for letting us come by!"

"Er, is that all?" Snape questioned. Tonks looked over at Moody who used his magical eye to scan the house. "It certainly seems secure enough. Listen, we Aurors aren't meant to serve as Social Services; Tonks was only given this assignment because she's green and this is the Boy Who Lived we're talking about here."

Potter ducked his head. Moody stood up, shifting his fedora to hide his magical eye again. "Well, we'll be going then. The Ministry wants Tonks to check in on you four every fortnight. Good-bye."

"Bye," agreed Tonks, winking at Lupin. Happily she followed Moody out of the house. Black prodded dubiously at the floor with the mop.

"This day is so weird."

"Do you have a compulsion to state the obvious, Black?" Snape retorted. For a response Black flicked the mop at the pants of the other wizard. Lupin just shook his head.

Out front Moody grumbled, "Tonks, promise me something."

"Depends on the promise."

"Good girl- constant vigilance," Moody distractedly praised her. "Listen, Potter shouldn't go back to his Muggle relatives. That cracked window was accidental magic."

"At his age?" Tonks asked skeptically.

"Yes. It happens… under certain circumstances. The threesome are aware of this, so they'll take care of him. Just keep him from his Muggle relatives as best as you can."

"All right, Moody. I need to go do some paperwork now- wotcher!" Tonks nodded before Apparating. With a slight headshake Moody Apparated as well.

Meanwhile Black had tried to enchant the mop to clean the floor, which was going as well as one would suspect.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. And yes, I am aware this probably isn't how it worked in reality but hey, this isn't reality. Plus I wanted to do it.

To Tonks-is-cool: remember, most of Moody's characterization was the fake Moody (even if he did fool everyone), and that the real Moody might have been still messed up from the nine months in a magical trunk even in Harry's fifth & sixth years. Plus in the books hardly anyone saw Harry in a context that would have revealed his past. Put another way, I didn't realize that Harry was being abused until I read a fanfic by marauders716.

PS: I've decided the Accio spell worked on Peter because he was in rat form in case anyone was wondering.

PPS: How did I put the wrong full moon year yet get the other dates correct? I am baffled.

* * *

**Chapter Six: ****Every day his time with the Dursleys seemed further and further away.**

That weekend with Black's money Lupin bought a small TV with a bunny ears antennae to celebrate the confirmation of Potter's living at Spinner's End. Snape still wasn't sure whether he agreed or not that Potter staying was reason to celebrate. Plus the kitchen walls and ceiling were still a tad damp from the mop incident from the day of the Aurors' visit.

With an amused Potter watching on Black and Lupin tinkered with the TV and the antennae, Snape occasionally poking his head up from the basement where he was brewing a batch of Pepper-up potions to make sure they hadn't electrocuted themselves. Both Snape and Potter could have told Black and Lupin how to go about the matter, having been raised in Muggle homes, but both had opted to let the pair struggle through it themselves. Furthermore, each was aware of the other's decision not to get involved.

At last they got the TV working on a channel where an explosion had just occurred onscreen, making the two wizards jump. Pressing his nose flat against the screen Black complained, "I can't see anything except dots!"

"I can't see anything either," Lupin noted wryly. "I think you need to be farther back."

"Oh." So Black scooted back a foot or two before sitting down on the floor. He tilted his head at the screen.

"What is that?"

"I think it's a robot, but I've never seen one before with such… vivid colors."

Intently the pair watched the remainder of the episode which wasn't much. But then another one came on, making Potter groan.

"It's an afternoon of reruns, Padfoot and Moony. Nothing new will be on."

Waiting until the commercial break Lupin pointed out, "They're all new to us."

"These Muggles talk oddly," Black frowned. "I never heard any other Muggles talk like this."

"I think they're American," Lupin offered. "It would explain the clothes."

"Ah."

A couple of episodes later a Potter tired of reruns of what seemed to be a kids' show made his way down into the basement where Snape was making a potion, occasionally glancing over to an open book. Sitting on a stool on the opposite side of the table Potter peered at the text.

"That looks like a school book."

"It was my sixth year Potions text," Snape acknowledged as he continued making the potion. "Everything that happened at the end of the term made me think of it so I brought it back with me. I'm fine-tuning a few of the potions I had earlier modified since I'm done with the Pepper up potions."

"Can I see?"

"As long as you don't ruin it and let me have it when I need to double-check anything, I don't see why not," Snape shrugged as he cut up a pair of ginger roots Curiously Potter skimmed through the book, finally looking at the inside of the front cover.

"Why does it say 'property of the Half-Blood Prince' if it's yours?"

"I was young and vain at the time-"

The bemused look Potter was giving him cut Snape short. Adding in an extra teaspoon of armadillo bile Snape modified his statement. "All right then. I was young and vainer at the time, and not exactly proud of my Muggle father. My mother was a pure-blood, with the maiden name of Prince. I thought I was being clever at the time, especially since by then your mother and I had had our falling-out."

"Oh."

There was silence for a few minutes, Potter replacing the textbook back to its original position. Snape had to break it in the end. "During your narration about your earlier adventures, I did see the parallel between myself and the Dark Lord- choosing new names because we viewed our Muggle fathers poorly, clinging to the status our mothers' blood had given us."

"You ended up loads better than Voldemort," Potter told Snape in a way he clearly intended to be comforting. Snape noted sardonically, "That's not saying much though, now is it?"

"It's better than nothing," Potter shrugged. Eying the bubbling potion he asked, "What kind of potion is that?"

"It's a Wit-Sharpening Potion; I think I'll need it with Black and Lupin around. Fourth years learn it."

"Oh," Potter nodded. Ruefully he observed, "Padfoot and Moony are obsessed with that American kids' show- I think they like all the explosions."

"Of course they do."

Potter smiled. "Just curious- did they ever blow up anything on purpose during your Hogwarts days?"

Snape smirked. "Yes."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"One condition- you help me with my potions. If you can cook, maybe it's not impossible for you to manage a decent potion. Especially since I can focus on you and you alone."

"If I can survive Voldemort three times, I can survive you," Potter retorted. Snape observed, "We'll see about that."

As it turned out, Potter could survive and even thrive in Snape's presence as long as Snape wasn't actively trying to tear him down. While Black and Lupin whiled away the afternoons playing wizard chess and watching various TV reruns Potter actually learned Potions. The mornings varied although a few minor chores always had to be done and three regular meals were a must with a teenager and a werewolf in the house.

A comfortable compromise had been made unconsciously between Snape and the other three, all of them realizing that the opposing House might not be so bad after all. On the two intervening Sunday afternoons the quartet would go to a vast park where Potter would fly about while the three adult wizards could talk. It was during these times that they planned a surprise birthday party for Potter as well as formalized their truce.

On the last Tuesday of the month over a breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs Lupin, fully recovered from the recent full moon, told Potter, "Harry, we'll be going out shopping this morning. Um, do you want to stay here?"

"By myself? You guys trust me in the house alone?" puzzled Potter. Snape snapped, "You're almost fourteen. You better be able to be trusted home alone for a few hours."

"Plus Dobby will here with you," Black pointed out.

"I guess… um, sure." Potter looked oddly pleased by the idea of being trusted to stay home alone as he continued eating. He was less jumpy but still tended to fade into the background whenever he thought he could.

Forty minutes later Snape and Lupin were dressed to go- Snape in a black turtleneck sweater and black slacks, Lupin in a grey blue long-sleeved shirt and jeans- but Black was still upstairs in his room. Potter was lurking in the front hallway as Snape cast a Sonorus charm again.

"YOU MANGY MUTT, GET DOWN HERE ALREADY!"

"I thought he said he was planning to accompany us as a dog so that he wouldn't attract too much attention," Lupin sighed. Potter nodded, "He did."

Black scrambled down the stairs a few minutes later, his Muggle clothes under a black trench coat and matching fedora. Lupin looked his friend up and down.

"Again, I thought you were going to be in dog mode once we're at the store?"

"I am. Er, I will be."

"Then why the fedora?"

"It looks wicked," Sirius beamed, tilting the hat to a jaunty angle. "But I still don't know how it got under my bed… took me forever to find it."

"All right, Padfoot, let's go," Lupin sighed, waving his hand towards the front door. "Potter, if we're not back by noon feel free to make yourself lunch. If we're not back by seven- unlikely but still- use the Floo Network to go to the Burrow. Try not to leave the house otherwise."

"Right," Potter nodded. Snape additionally requested, "No potion making while I'm gone. That way we don't risk any explosions. I still don't completely trust you alone with a cauldron."

Potter nodded. "Anything else? Should I do any extra chores or what?"

"No, other than any common sense-"

"This is Potter, he got neither parent's commons sense," Snape interjected but Lupin overrode him. "Other than any common sense you have more or less free range. Just make sure the house is roughly in the same condition it was when we left by the time we get back."

"All right. Bye!"

"Bye, Harry," Lupin smiled as he pulled on his brown woolen jacket.

"Bye, Prongslet, see you later," Padfoot beamed, tousling Potter's eternally messy hair on his way to the front door. As he left Snape nodded, "Goodbye, Potter."

"Bye, Snape," Potter nodded back moments before the front door shut and locked. He looked around. It was the first time he had been alone in Spinner's End. Well, Dobby was somewhere in the house which gave Potter an idea. First he went upstairs to his room and dug through his stuff until he found what he was looking for. Then he went and found Dobby scouring out Snape's cauldrons in the basement.

"Hey, Dobby?"

"Yes, Master Harry Potter?" The house elf poked his head out of the cauldron he was currently scouring, his massive ears protruding out from either side of his head.

Potter held up the deck of cards. "Want to play Wizard Snap with me?"

"Oh, yes, Master Harry Potter! As soon as Dobby finishes cleaning this cauldron."

"Great," Potter smiled. "I'll help."

The party supplies Disillusioned to keep Potter from spotting them, when the trio of adult wizards returned midafternoon they found the wizard boy and the house elf building a house of cards in the middle of the library cum sitting room, leftover fire-popped popcorn in a big bowl next to them.

"Hi, Harry," Lupin interjected. Potter looked up. "Oh, hello!"

"Hello masters!" Dobby added. Snape requested, "Potter, could you leave off playing for a minute to help us bring in the groceries?"

"Oh sure," he responded, jumping up. This caused the house of cards to explode, sending Dobby flying into the couch. Stricken Potter went over to the dazed house elf. "Dobby! I'm sorry!"

"Dobby is all right, Master Harry Potter," the house elf assured the wizard as he stood up. "Now let Dobby and Master Harry Potter go unload the car!"

"Actually, Prongslet, how about you clean up the exploded card house?" Black suggested, giving Snape a dour look. "Dobby, you can help unload though if you want."

"Dobby wants to!"

Sheepishly Potter began to collect the scattered cards. As he put away the can of tomato sauce Black grumbled at Snape, who was putting away the jug of milk in the fridge. Sunlight was streaming through the sink window, brightening the tired room and the two wizards dressed in dark hues.

"What if Harry had spotted or accidentally touched any of the party supplies? Usually you're smarter than that, Snape."

"Did you just imply that I'm intelligent?" Snape inquired, peering over at Black from over the fridge door. Black sniffed, "Not tonight."

Lupin staggered through the kitchen door, his arms full of brown paper bags. Hastily Black helped him dump them all onto the kitchen table. In the interim Snape used a silent Wingardium Leviosa spell to levitate Black's fedora from Black's head to his own. Before either of the other wizards could notice Snape left to get more groceries. As the pair put away the various groceries, Black placed a hand on his now bare head.

"Oy! Where's my fedora?"

"I have no idea," Lupin replied as he tucked away a container of maple syrup that he had insisted on buying for Harry. "Maybe Snape took it."

Black looked horrified. "He wouldn't."

"You had just insulted his intelligence," Lupin recalled. Black sulked, "I think we're a bad influence on Snape."

Lupin just eyed his best friend. "I think you mean that _you're_ a bad influence on Snape."

Snape reentered the kitchen with two bags of groceries in one hand and a mop in the other as well as Black's fedora on his head. With a cold stare Black reclaimed his fedora and stuck it firmly back onto his head. Snape just informed him while waving the new mop in the other black-haired wizard's face, "Now, Black, NEVER ever cast another spell on my mop again."

"I _said_ I was sorry."

"But did you mean it?" Snape demanded skeptically. Black rolled his eyes, stating, "There are eight house elf sized mops locked inside the laundry room which want to take over the world. I think I meant it!"

"Or they could become your minions in your conquest to take over the world," Lupin suggested mildly. Snape gave him a glower. "Don't go giving Black ideas!"

"It was already too late," Lupin shrugged while Black tried to enchant the egg carton into the open fridge but just crashed it through the sink window due to his aggravation with Snape and/or the idea of having mop minions. This made Potter poke his head into the kitchen.

"Is everything all right?"

"Reparo," cast Black, fixing the window. Then he turned to Potter. "Yes."

"Keep an eye on my godfather, please. He's the only one I have," Potter requested of Lupin and Snape before retreating back into the library.

Wednesday was quiet, with Lupin doing laundry with Black's "assistance" against the devious animated mops while Snape continued to tutor Potter how to really make potions. After dinner they cleaned up the house a bit as Tonks (and probably Moody) would be returning the next day.

That morning Snape was making blueberry pancakes with the overhead lamp on since it wasn't quite dawn, trying to figure out why Black was sleeping in dog form on the heath rug. The wizard had gone up to bed the previous night, Snape was sure of it. Plus the fire had died down to embers. It would seem that Potter wasn't the only one holding back.

Snape sighed as he flipped a pancake to cook the other side. As usual he was dressed in black slacks and a black high collar, long-sleeved shirt. Something was wrong about having an Auror check in on Potter to make sure they're good guardians. It clearly hadn't happened with his Muggle relatives- nor with any other underage wizard living with non-relatives that Snape had heard of. And surely Dumbledore would have spoken for them if the Ministry had doubts about putting Potter in his, Black's, and Lupin's care- Dumbledore.

Snape swore softly and at length under his breath, remembering the headmaster's reluctance at letting Potter come and live with them. Despite Fudge's ballooning ego Dumbledore still had great sway at the Ministry; a few choice words dropped in certain locations and voila. The blood bonds might be a sure-fire way to have protected the young Potter from dark forces but they had also exposed him to forces that even if mundane were just as damaging. Snape's mouth thinned. He would not let Lily's son go back to that sort of life. For that matter, he wouldn't let James' son go back to that sort of life whether or not he was half Lily's.

Plopping the pancake down onto the growing stack of blueberry pancakes Snape took a deep breath. Maybe it was just the Ministry, maybe Dumbledore had nothing to do with the matter. After all, the Ministry could be using Potter as an excuse to keep Black in line. That was it, nothing more or less. Dumbledore couldn't be that much of a chess master.

Fifteen minutes later Potter sleepily made his way into the kitchen in an apple green T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Stretching he asked, "Pancakes for breakfast?"

"Yes- and this time there's maple syrup in the cupboard."

"Thanks!" beamed Potter. Not sure why he was reluctant to say the truth Snape refuted, "It was Lupin's idea."

"But it's your house," Potter countered as he poked through the cupboards for the maple syrup. Snape just drizzled a ladle of batter into the frying pan to start a new pancake. "I suppose you have a point."

In easy silence Snape wrapped up that pancake before pausing the pancake making process to eat a pair of pancakes in comfortable silence with Potter who was eating three pancakes- for once without prompting. Finally he was starting to act a bit more like he did at Hogwarts, but more and more Snape realized that Potter's crossness in his presence had originated with Snape's treatment of Potter rather than with Potter himself. The boy had Lily's eyes after all; Snape had forgotten the adage of eyes being the windows to the soul.

Ten minutes later a tousled-haired Black strolled into the kitchen from the library, still in his indigo pajamas. Yawning he questioned, "Breakfast?"

"On the counter," Snape nodded in the direction of the stack of pancakes by the stove. Blearily Black went over and got himself a pair of pancakes to eat before sinking into the chair between Snape and Potter. Looking around he wondered, "Where's Lupin?"

"Still in bed?" shrugged Potter after swallowing. Accepting this answer Black liberally coated his pancakes with maple syrup. It took another ten minutes, but Lupin made his way downstairs in khaki pants and a beige V-neck sweater. Quietly he got himself a quartet of blueberry pancakes to eat, taking the last seat. As he sliced them up he reminded the others, "Tonks will be coming over today. So no 'debates', Padfoot and Snape."

"It was his fault!" argued the pair in unison, making Potter duck his head in order to hide his smile. Lupin just shook his head, opting to fill his mouth with pancake rather than answering. True to what he had said, a knock came at the front door five minutes to twelve. Opening the door, Lupin smiled at the young, lovely Auror.

"Hello, Tonks."

"Wotcher, Lupin," she beamed at him as she entered the house, winking at him with vivid violet eyes. "How have things been going?"

"All right; Snape took Harry shopping and he's been adjusting really well to living here," Lupin informed her, trying to keep his heart rate steady. Now he remembered on the odd occasion when he had babysat her as a young girl Tonks had wrapped him around her pinky finger. Apparently her ability to do so to him had only grown in the intervening dozen years. He kept his eyes trained on her swishing ponytail as he walked behind her- today her hair was platinum blonde and tightly curled. Her lavender shirt had three-quarter sleeves and a scooped neckline that went well with her tight jeans. Lupin jerked his eyes back onto the ponytail.

Snape had cooked a pepperoni Stromboli for luncheon, which was currently cooling on the stove while he flipped through an advanced Potions text at the table. Entering Tonks commented, "Hello, Professor Snape. Well, you're not my professor anymore but still."

"Hello, Tonks."

"So how's Potter been doing?"

"All right- he's upstairs in his room right now. He thought he could manage to write a letter to his friend Granger before your arrival," Snape explained. "Apparently he was wrong."

"Snape," Lupin warned him, leaning against the doorframe. "I think Sirius is off trying to subdue the mop minions."

"Mop minions?" Tonks' eyes were wide. Lupin grinned mischievously. "It's a long story."

"Clearly," Tonks shook her head. Snape shut his book, inquiring, "Tonks, do you know who gave the order for there to be an Auror to check in on Potter regularly?"

"I think it was Fudge… probably Dumbledore was involved since Potter is a Hogwarts student," Tonks observed. Snape's face closed up. "I see."

Curiously Tonks said, "I could go visit Potter up in his room if you want."

"I'll take you over," Lupin offered, hastily ensuring that he would be first this time in order to evade temptation. Bouncily Tonks followed the werewolf. Snape rubbed his temples. Matters just weren't adding up. The puzzle pieces weren't fitting together… or not least in a way he wished they would.

Just then Sirius entered the kitchen, soaking wet. Grumpily he stated, "Those mops are pure evil."

"That makes sense- you created them after all."

"Shut up, just shut up." An annoyed Black shook his head rapidly, sending water droplets flying every which way. Grateful that he had closed his book Snape gave the other wizard a very dark look. "Do that again and I'll take you to the vet."

"OY!" Black yelled, outraged at the implication. Snape just smirked as Lupin reentered the kitchen. Upon seeing the scene before him- a drenched Black giving a death stare to a smirking Snape- he promptly turned around and retreated back to the library.

Leaving Harry's chambers Tonks tripped on the second stair from the top, tumbling all the way down to the library. With the shelf still away from the entrance, Lupin hurriedly caught her. Staring into her eyes, which had shifted to brown only tinged with violet, Lupin realized that if he wasn't careful he would fall in love Tonks as easily as she had just fallen down the stairs. Helping her to her feet he asked worriedly, "Are you all right?"

"Oh sure, I trip all the time- I'm dead clumsy, see. Luckily me being a Metamorphmagus made up for it in my finals for my Auror training."

"Ah," Lupin smiled, still holding her close. She smelled so sweet… blushing, Tonks stepped back. Biting her lower lip she rambled, "Harry seems really happy here… you three are doing a great job as his guardians it seems… he's not at all stuck-up for being so famous… I really ought to be getting back to the Ministry…"

"Yes. Well, I suppose we'll be seeing you on August 11th then?" Lupin inquired mildly. Her hair now tipped with neon pink Tonks nodded. "Yes- in another fortnight. Well, bye then."

"Bye then," Lupin echoed as Tonks hastily made her way to the front door. Once on the other side of it she leaned against it, her eyes wide. Collecting herself she Apparated back to the Ministry to get back to her usual work.

Slightly dazed Lupin returned to the kitchen where Black was spraying water out of his wand at Snape who was shooting small flares back at him from his wand. Smacking his palm against his forehead Lupin turned around to leave. Hopefully Potter's birthday in three days would go better.

Up in his bedroom Potter was leaning his forearms against the windowsill, staring out at the urban sprawl contrasting against the cloudless blue sky. He exhaled happily. Every day his time with the Dursleys seemed further and further away.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter.

But I am making James a Seeker even if some say he was a Chaser. So there. Also I'm worse about sports than Rowling- sorry about that.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: And he would have been right.**

On Sunday Potter made his way downstairs to the kitchen, hoping that he, Black, Lupin, and Snape would go to the park so he could ride his Firebolt. What he was not expecting was the trio already awake and sitting at the table, a near buffet of breakfast foods sprawled out across the counters. Baffled he scratched the back of his head.

"Um, what's going on?"

"It's your birthday breakfast banquet, Prongslet," beamed Black. Potter remained baffled. "And you remembered?"

"Yes," the three wizards acknowledged not quite in tandem which made for a disjointed confirmation. Pulling out a chair Lupin advised Potter, "Grab a plate, fill it up, and sit down to eat."

Dubiously Potter did as Lupin said, although Snape was a tad aggravated that Potter didn't take all that much food. Suddenly a chill settled in his stomach and he whispered to Black, "I think Petunia and her husband didn't celebrate Potter's birthday."

"Oi, that's a new low," Black exclaimed indigently. Snape shoved his elbow into the other wizard's ribs. "Well, we'll deal with it later if it's true. Today is about Potter. He'll probably get a swelled head from all the attention."

Black just gave Snape a, well, black look. Lupin was ignoring the pair studiously, opting instead to fill his plate once Potter had taken his seat. As they continued to glower at one another Lupin told them as he sat down across from Potter, "Would you two get some food already instead of scowling at one another?"

Turning to Potter he commented, "We'll be going to the Burrow at eleven."

"Really? Great! I haven't seen Ron all summer!"

Black commented sheepishly, "If you missed Ron so badly, you could have asked if we could go visit the Burrow."

Potter blinked. "Huh? For real?"

"Yes. And Hermione will be there too," Black beamed, making Snape shoot him a dour look. If possible Potter got more excited. "Wicked! I've never been with them on my birthday before!"

"Never?" echoed Lupin. Potter shrugged, "After my first year Ron and the twins rescued me from the Dursleys after my birthday. And last year I left after my birthday. Besides, that year Hermione was in France and Ron was in-"

"Egypt, right," Black interjected as he sat down besides his godson. Tousling the teenager's hair he asked, "So if there anything you want to do before we go to the Burrow?"

"Try to subdue the mop minions again?"

"Only for you, Harry," Black exhaled. Cheekily Potter assured his godfather, "I was joking. But really- maybe we could go to the park so I could fly some on my Firebolt."

"Why not fly with Ron later?" Lupin anxiously suggested.

"That's a great idea, Lupin," Potter agreed to the trio's relief. "So… um… maybe Snape could try to teach me a new potion?"

"Potter, it's your birthday. Potion making is not something to do on your birthday," Black shook his head in despair at his godson's decision. Potter replied quietly, "It is when you can hear stories about your mum as a kid."

Snape kept his eyes on his food. Lupin noted thoughtfully, "Well, Padfoot and I could tell you about your first birthday."

"Or his zeroth birthday!" Black proclaimed. Lupin and Snape looked at him askance. Sulkily he commented, "Don't look at me like that- I think it's quite an original way to refer to the day Harry was born."

Lupin just stood up for seconds despite still having some food left on his plate. Snape tugged him back down into his seat. "Sit down, Lupin. If I have to endure Black's inanity so do you."

Muttering darkly under his breath Lupin picked his fork back up. Black just grumbled, "I am Serious, you know."

"I loathe that joke."

"Shut up, Snape."

"You shut up, mutt."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"Your mom!" Black injected smugly. Bug-eyed Snape ranted, "How dare you bring my mum into this! How'd you like it if I brought in your mother!"

"I'd probably agree with pretty much anything you said about her, the- oops, sorry, Prongslet."

Potter just pushed his glasses up. Doubtfully he went, "It's all right?"

"We've turned Spinner's End into a mad house," Lupin informed his mug of coffee before sipping. Potter just kept eating while Snape and Black continued to argue about what was and what was not fitting to say about Black's mother.

The morning was passed telling Potter more stories about his parents as children; it turned out that before their deaths the elder Potter's parents had given Lupin and Black a lot of funny stories about him as a boy while Snape knew a lot about Lily. Potter soaked them up like a sponge, even taking notes. Close to eleven they used the Floo Network to go to the Burrow. Lupin went first, followed by Potter and Black while Snape brought up the rear.

The quartet ended up in the Burrows' kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley must have been waiting for them judging by the massive hugs she gave them all. Behind her an indigent Fred exclaimed, "Mum! You're hugging SNAPE! Um, Professor Snape."

"Oh, bugger it, Fred," Potter shrugged. "He has been just cranky about my mom dying."

"For twelve _years_?"

"Yes."

Throwing his arms up into the air the soon to be sixth year stalked off, presumably to find his twin George. Beaming Mrs. Weasley told him, "Ron and Hermione are out back."

"Great," Potter agreed, his Firebolt slung over one shoulder. "Um, I'll go out back while you guys talk. Thanks for having me over, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, of course, Harry dear," she smiled, trying to flatten his untameable hair. Black chuckled, "It won't lie flat- I think Lily had a spell to tame it, and when he tried to undo it his hair turned violet."

"Oh," sighed Mrs. Weasley, dropping her arms to her sides. "Go on, Harry."

Nodding Potter dashed out back, jerking to a halt inches outside the back door. With knowing smiles the four adult wizards followed.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!"

There was a veritable crowd of people in the backyard, almost of all of whom Potter recognized. With a bright smile Ron walked up to him, placing a fake golden crown on his best friend's head. "Hey, Harry."

"What's going on?"

"We're having a birthday party for you, of course," Hermione shook her head as she joined the pair of boys. "Before lunch we'll have a Quidditch match."

"Really?"

"Really," Ron smirked. "Weasleys against everyone else!"

"Hear hear!" cheered the twins. Next to them weren't just Percy and Ginny but two older male wizards that Harry supposed would have to be Bill and Charlie. All seven Weasley children as well as their parents had red hair. Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'm even playing Beater for some absurd reason."

"It was you or Neville," Ron pointed out reasonably. Hermione shrugged her agreement. "I'm still impressed we managed to scrap up together enough brooms to do this."

"Professor McGonagall brought them," Ron guessed. "Now come on, let's get ready!"

But first Harry had to be glomped by Hagrid, who he hugged back. Then it was time to get ready for Quidditch.

The seven Weasleys got into fire red robes like their hair while Harry tugged on an inky black robe. His six teammates were Hermione, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Tonks, and Oliver Wood. Wood clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's have one last game together, eh, Harry?"

Potter nodded. "Right."

Professor McGonagall, as referee, started the game while the other party guests sat on picnic blankets to cheer on the two teams. Wood was against Ron as Keeper; Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were opposite to Bill, Percy, and Ginny as Chasers; poor Hermione and Tonks had to go against the twins as the teams' Beaters; and as Seeker Potter would have to get the Snitch before Charlie.

Neville, in compensation for not participating in the game itself, did the commentary with tips from Lee Jordan who was sitting beside him. Easily Potter swooped up and about in his quest for the Snitch as Charlie did the same.

While the Quaffle and the Bludgers flew about the home-made pit, which had three Quidditch hoops a third of the size of the ones at Hogwarts. Still, it was Quidditch, and Potter focused on finding the Snitch. Finally he saw the familiar golden gleam, low by the central hoop of the Weasley team. Yet at the same time Charlie was diving down towards a spot where the Snitch definitely was not. More baffled than anything else, Potter dove past the battling Chasers for the Quaffle and grabbed the Snitch. Triumphantly he held up the Snitch.

"And the birthday boy gets the Snitch!" cheered Longbottom. Affably the fourteen wizards disembarked their brooms. Charlie shook his head, bemused. "I was trying for a Wronski feint but you got me."

"He's almost as good as you," agreed Wood proudly. Charlie nodded, making Potter smile lopsidedly. Ron asked hopefully, "Can we eat now?"

"Sure," agreed Tonks, whose hair was now short, spiky, and silver. Professor McGonagall added sternly, "First put away the brooms."

"Yes, Professor," they all chorused, even the ones no longer students at Hogwarts.

A few picnic tables had been set up- Ron told Harry about how when their mum wasn't looking Bill and Charlie had levitated them for a mock battle. Hermione sniffed repeatedly during this retelling, which told Harry that it had been completely wicked indeed. On one of the tables groaned under the weight of all the food on it. The centerpiece was a huge Snitch-shaped and iced cake. With a quick spell Black lit the fourteen candles on the cake. Potter stood anxiously in front of the cake while everyone sang.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Harry, happy birthday to you!"

With a bashful smile Harry made his wish and blew out the candles with a strong breath. Happily Mrs. Weasley began to cut the cake, giving Potter the first slice. He found himself surrounded by Ron, Hermione, Neville, and the twins. Interestingly Tonks managed to sit between Charlie and Lupin while Black and Snape sat next to one another ostensibly to continue their 'discussion' about Black's mother. Happily the group got caught up about their summer activities.

"It was my birthday yesterday," Neville noted. Harry blinked. "Oh. That makes- that makes us kind of special, doesn't it?"

"I suppose so."

Hermione gave Potter an appraising look, having caught his troubled tone. But she didn't press. Looking around Harry admitted, "I haven't had a birthday party since I was one."

"Don't Muggles have birthday parties?" Ron frowned earnestly.

"Oh, sure they do. I didn't. But I like this far better than any possible Muggle birthday party," Harry smiled. "So, does anyone know when we'll get our letters from Hogwarts?"

"Soon," George acknowledged. "Dad and Percy keep hinting that this year will be special somehow. I don't see how."

Hermione and Ron exchanged a significant look. Fred snorted. "Well, more special for you three anyway."

"In my defense, trouble finds me and not the other way around," Harry protested, making Neville laugh slightly. "Usually, anyway, Harry."

"Well… so, am I going to get presents too?" Potter changed the subject awkwardly. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course you are."

"Nice!"

Later, having unwrapped a pile of presents that even Dudley wouldn't have thrown an especially large tantrum over, Harry lounged back with Ron and Hermione. Exhaling happily he toyed with the Snitch as he talked with the pair about their adventures together. Snape noticed the heartbroken expressions on Lupin and Black's faces. Crossly he told them, "He isn't being exactly like James, you know. He's just doing to unwind and as something to do. James did it to show off."

"Still," Black sighed, jamming his hands into his cloak pockets. Lupin looked depressed, shifting his gaze to his feet. Snape grabbed the pair by the back of the collars. "Come on, let's go eat cake until we have a sugar crash. It's better than grabbing a bunch of fire whiskey to down."

A bit later Fred, George, and Lee returned from wherever they had disappeared off to. Curiously George asked, "So, Harry, are the trio giving you any trouble?"

"We can always hijack another car to break you out," agreed Fred. Harry shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm good."

"I don't trust Lupin," Fred stated darkly. George nodded, "We couldn't prank him."

"_He _pranked _them_," Lee sniggered. The twins sulked.

"It's not funny…"

"He broke our record…"

"Of pranking every teacher…"

"How could we forgive that?"

Hermione and Harry looked at Ron. Blankly he asked, "What?"

Apparently Ron hadn't told the twins; Hermione and Harry hadn't because they had thought Ron would do so. Shaking his head, Harry got to his feet. "Come on, you two."

The twins followed him to where Lupin and Black had switched to playing Wizard Snap rather than eating cake. Harry told the two older wizards, "These two are Fred and George, they're the ones who…"

"Ah, right," smirked Black, getting the drift. Bemused Lupin stated, "I am not surprised."

"Fred, George," beamed Harry, knowing well what the results of his next sentence would be. "Meet Misters Padfoot and Moony."

Fred and George's jaws dropped. The former regained his voice first. "For real?"

"We're solemnly up to no good," confirmed Black. George marveled, "No wonder we couldn't prank Lupin- and small wonder Black was the first wizard to break out of Azkaban!"

Lupin and Black looked proud of themselves. George turned to Harry. "No way."

"Yes way."

"No, not that- Pettigrew and Harry's dad must have been Wormtail and Prongs!"

"Well, then, of course he'd be the Boy Who Lived. He's the son of a Maruader!" Fred proclaimed. Black nodded. "For now we're calling him Prongslet, especially since his Patronus is Prongs."

George decided, "Prince Prongslet, since you four- well, three excluding the traitor- are the kings of pranksters. That makes Harry the Prince of Pranksters."

"He pranks the Dark Lord by foiling his schemes!" Fred got into the vibe, pumping his fist high. "He pranks fate by not just surviving incredibly dangerous adventures, but thriving in them! He is: Prince Prongslet, Son of King Prongs and Queen Lily, the Prince of Pranksters, the Boy Who Lived, Lightening-bolt Forehead, Heir of the Messy Potter Hair, and foe of the Dark Lord who hates all **pranks**!"

Snape had no idea what the conversation between the five was, but the expression on Potter's face made him laugh for the first time since he and Lily had stopped being friends. The rest of the afternoon was spent comfortably spending time with fellow wizards in the crisp country air of Ottery St. Catchpole. As the horizon turned fiery red, the sky above turning purple and pink, a bonfire was made to roast marshmallows and other treats on. Everyone huddled together and conversed. Hagrid used a whole branch to toast his marshmallows on while everyone else used a stick.

After Tonks had burnt her fifth marshmallow to a crisp Lupin succumbed to the temptation and gave her one of his. Snape found himself enjoying the evening. Maybe being good could be enjoyable. Perhaps Lily wouldn't want him grieving for the rest of his life… perhaps.

Meanwhile Ron was asking Potter, "So, are you coming to the Quidditch Cup with us?"

"I don't know, Ron," Harry admitted. "I'm still getting to know Black and Lupin… and Snape and I are still figuring out that the other isn't so bad. Besides, we'll be seeing each other again soon."

"I'd like to see Spinner's End," Hermione stated as she toasted her piece of bread. Ron looked at her oddly. "Why? It's Snape's house."

"Professor Snape, Ron. But it's also Harry's house now."

Harry saw where Hermione was going with this. "Um, Hermione. Tonks is coming by on the Ministry's orders every 2 weeks to make sure I'm still in one piece."

"I like and trust Tonks- but I cannot and will not say the same for the Ministry."

"Oi."

"Ronald Weasley! This is Harry we're talking about here."

"I'm fine," Harry agreed uncomfortably as he stuck a marshmallow onto the end of his stick. "It's loads better than the Dursleys, promise."

"It's Snape," Ron stated as if that was the end of the matter.

"He's actually not so bad once you get off his bad side…"

"He slipped a potion into your drink that first day, didn't he?" Ron asked suspiciously. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ronald. Please; Snape is not one of the bad guys."

"He's not," Potter confirmed, watching Snape twirl his stick which had a potato of all things on the end. "He would never go back after Voldemort killed my mum."

"Ah."

"Huh?"

Where Hermione understood at once, Ron did not. Harry allowed himself a small smile as he gazed up at the stars. What a happy birthday indeed.

"Guys?"

"Yes, Harry?" Hermione inquired. The pair looked over at him, the fire casting their faces into sharp contrast.

"I'm glad I have friends like you two."

"So am I."

"Me too," Ron agreed. "Hey, 'Mione, are you going to eat that marshmallow?"

Harry smiled; this birthday might even trump one where Hagrid had told him he was a wizard. At length the trio fell asleep, as did the other teens. Quietly the adults picked them up and carried them into the Burrow once enough nooks and crannies had been found for them all.

Most of the adults left after that, but Potter's three guardians stayed. Black curled up as Padfoot with Harry while Lupin and Snape conjured up some blankets and pillows to sleep in the kitchen. With a contented sigh Arther Weasley wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, placing his head on her shoulder. Nothing needed to be said between the two.

Early the next morning, Harry momentarily woke up to find himself on a pile of blankets in Ron's bedroom, dawn's light timidly peering through the window. Ron was sprawled out in his bed, and Padfoot was snuggled up against him. Scratching behind his godfather's ear Potter whispered, "I love you, Padfoot."

The great black dog sleepily wagged his tail, which Potter took to mean a reply in the same. And he would have been right.


	8. Chapter 8

Hi! I'm back with thank yous for all my reviewers!

Oh- I do not own Harry Potter or Star Wars or The Sound of Music or Power Rangers or Fraggle Rock or Doctor Who. All I own is the plot bunny. Sniffle.

Also I had to tweak chapters 4, 5, & 6 as apparently I accidentally used 1995's date of July's full moon instead of 1994's which is the correct year. It's nothing earth-changing, but just letting you guys know in case you're rereading & puzzling about any changes that seem to have occurred.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: One by one they fell asleep with the rain still falling ceaselessly onto the roof.**

A week after his birthday, Potter stumbled downstairs into the library before dawn had ended. Behind his glasses his emerald green eyes were troubled, even frightened. His godfather was sitting on the couch, a mug of coffee in one hand, gazing into the sputtering fire. Potter gulped, "Padfoot?"

The wizard started slightly, and then frowned in worry at his godson. "Harry? Harry, what's wrong?"

Quietly, shyly, the pajama-clad teenager cuddled up to his godfather before exhaling in relief. With his free arm Sirius hugged his godson.

"Did you have a bad dream too?"

"It wasn't exactly a dream… I woke up with my scar hurting."

"So it was Voldemort related."

Potter nodded, his head resting comfortably on Sirius's still too thin chest. "He was talking about having killed someone… and that… and that he was planning to kill me."

"Not to belittle your concerns or anything, but that seems to be a common occurrence with you," Black observed. Potter half-smiled. "True, but he also talked about coming back, gaining a real body."

"You foiled him the last two times he tried that- maybe the third time is the charm?"

"For him or for me?"

"Good point," Black conceded. Potter blanched. "There was a giant snake, and it told Voldemort about the Muggle man listening in at the door. He was brave, but he didn't get away…"

Black bit back some words that he really shouldn't say in front of his godson. Potter stared up at him with those eyes so like Lily's yet so completely his own at the same time.

"But Padfoot… he was talking to Wormtail, calling him Wormtail by name."

Black stiffened. "How?"

"Wormtail found him in Albania I believe," Potter volunteered. Then he paused. "Or is that where Professor Quirrell found him? I forget."

Black closed his eyes and held his godson closer to him as he thought out loud. "Of course- Pettigrew pulled the same stunt I did to escape Azkaban. The Ministry doesn't want to reveal that they messed up AGAIN so they're keeping it quiet. But they feel guilty enough to want to send in an unsuspecting Auror ostensibly to keep an eye on you."

"Oh."

"Can you remember anything else about the dream, Harry?"

"Something about getting a more loyal follower into Hogwarts… they were in some kind of manor… it's getting fuzzy, I'm sorry Padfoot."

"It's all right," Black soothed the teenager. "It's all right."

"But will it stay all right?" Potter wondered bleakly. "It never has been before… it feels like the higher I get, the farther I then fall. And this has been the highest I've been yet, here with you and Lupin and Snape."

"I will never willingly leave you, Harry. You know that, right?"

Potter looked up at Black with sad eyes. "I bet my parents would have never willingly left me either, though."

That was a punch to the stomach, but Black couldn't deny it. Potter suddenly sat upright but Black pulled him back into the one-armed hug of before.

"You can't do this alone, Harry. You can't. Even Dumbledore can't defeat Voldemort alone."

"But the prophecy says-"

"That's at the end, we're still probably in about the middle of the adventure right now. You'll need all the help you can need, Prongslet."

Potter just shrugged. Black leaned back. "I'm just glad Tonks will be coming by tomorrow since then we can ask her if she knows anything. It's a long shot but it's probably our only shot."

"Right," Potter agreed. Black asked, "Do you want to write to Ron and Hermione about the dream?"

Potter grinned, "Ron would just worry and suggest asking his dad about it. Hermione would lecture a bit before going off into a book. But since no one else has ever survived the Killing Curse I don't think there are any precedents for me to follow."

"True, very true." Just then Black's stomach rumbled so he unwrapped his arm from Potter. "Well, maybe we continue discussing this while we make breakfast?"

Whistling Tonks strolled up to the house at Spinner's End the next day. It was extremely humid in the area, with looming storm clouds on the horizon. So she quickly shortened her magenta hair to a curly bob while keeping her eyes golden brown. She wore a neon pink V-neck T-shirt with her jeans, having left her cloak at her desk. Happily she knocked on the front door, hoping Lupin would answer.

Unfortunately it was Professor Snape. He was dressed in black slacks and a green-black turtleneck sweater that contrasted with his sallow skin and slick shoulder-length black hair. Nonetheless she beamed at him, saying, "Wotcher, Snape!"

"Miss Tonks, please come in."

"How are you enjoying this steamy Monday?" she inquired as she followed him back to the kitchen. Snape observed, "Shouldn't you be asking Lupin that?"

The roots of her hair turned bright red in embarrassment. "Snape! I didn't mean it like that!"

He smirked. "Sure you didn't."

She would have made a face at him but then they entered the kitchen. Black was leaning against the counter while Lupin and Potter were sitting at the kitchen table. She and Snape took the remaining two seats. Tonks didn't like the smoldering look on Black's face or the way his arms were crossed against his chest.

"Is he in a mood?" she asked Lupin. Somewhat soberly he rumpled the back of his hair, which made her heart skip a beat despite the circumstances.

"You could say that, Nymphadora."

"I don't like being called that."

"Well, I like calling you Nymphadora, Nymphadora."

The twenty-one year old Auror glowered at the lopsidedly smiling wizard. Black grumbled, "Stop flirting you two."

"We're NOT!" yelped both. Snape rolled his eyes while Black snorted. Potter looked back and forth between the two, asking, "Personally I think you're acting a bit like Ron and Hermione. But if Padfoot thinks that's flirting would that mean…?"

While Potter attempted to sort out this new notion Black pressed, "Tonks, are you sure that you don't know why the Ministry is so interested in keeping an eye on Potter?"

"Well… I know there was an emergency meeting the day before I got this assignment," Tonks admitted. Faintly blushing she admitted, "I remember only because I daydreamed that me getting this assignment was a direct result of that meeting."

"It could have been," Snape stated flatly. "Tonks, we don't want what we're about to tell you getting back to the Ministry."

"None of us here particularly trust it, and while we do trust you we want to make sure you don't tell anyone who would misuse this information," Black explained. Tonks rolled her tongue around her mouth for a minute before admitting, "I promise. Sometimes I think that Fudge is putting us down the loo."

Lupin chuckled darkly. "That's a good metaphor for it."

Potter shifted uncomfortably in his seat, taking a deep breath before explaining. "Because of what Voldemort did to me when I was a baby, we have a sort of connection now."

To Tonks' credit she barely flinched when he said 'Voldemort'. Curiously she asked, "What sort of connection?"

"Nobody knows for sure because what happened between us has never occurred before," Potter frowned. "But here's what I do know. When he's nearby or feeling particularly angry my scar hurts."

"Really?"

"Really. And last night… I dreamed of him."

"Um…"

"Well when you put it like that, Harry," Black had to snigger. Snape and Lupin exchanged consoling looks while Potter's eyes widened. "Not like that! I overheard him telling Wormtail about him planning to get a new body and kill me!"

"That's not good."

"No, really," Snape snipped at her. Lupin stated, "Snape, that's enough."

"He also talked about getting a loyal follower into Hogwarts," Potter frowned. Snape acknowledged, "A few days ago I received an owl explaining matters since I am a professor there and let's just say that it'd be relatively easy to sneak into the school this upcoming term."

"Uh no."

"Why me?" Potter muttered darkly to himself, and no one could come up with a satisfactory answer beyond the prophecy. Lupin tousled Potter's hair. "We're here for you, Potter. All of us."

"Whether I like it or not," Snape shrugged. Potter smiled weakly. "I'm here for you all as well."

Tonks frowned. "But what-"

"Constant vigilance," Black quoted Moody, his posture now more relaxed. "For now, that's all we can do."

Tonks made a face, leading Lupin to gently chide her, "We don't know the location of Voldemort's hide out, we don't know what loyal follower he's seeking out, and we don't know the details of his plan. We should be glad that we have any warning at all that he's planning to kill Harry."

"Again," Potter added moodily. Black stated flatly, "I won't let anyone hurt you."

The look in his eyes worried Snape, as if Potter couldn't believe Black even though he wanted to. So he just told Tonks sourly, "Basically, actually do what the Ministry assigned you to do, even if they weren't all that serious about it: protect Harry."

"All right," she nodded. Glancing at her Star Wars wristwatch she sighed, "I gotta get back to work. Wotcher, everyone!"

Tripping over her chair, Tonks left. The four wizards split up for the afternoon as the storm clouds rolled in, the humidity now stifling. Black in his dog form slept under the kitchen table, his leg twitching edgily. Lupin tried to read in the library, but in the end he just stared at the bookshelves lost in thought. Snape was tucked away in the cool basement, doing inventory on his potions supplies so he could restock when the time came to go to Diagon Alley for Potter's school supplies. And Potter sprawled out on his bed, too lazy from the humidity to do much of anything.

With a long roll of thunder the storm broke towards evening, bringing the quartet back together in the kitchen to watch the torrent from the sink window. With the heat broken Lupin made tea for everyone. Sipping his cup of tea after adding a rather large quantity of sugar and honey Black suggested, "How about we play truth or dare?"

"How about just truth?" countered Snape. "It's still just a tad too humid for dares. Besides, I don't trust you, mutt."

"Well, Sevy boy, I don't trust you more."

"No, I don't trust you more."

"No, I don't."

"No, I don't."

"No, I don't."

"No, I don't."

"Enough," laughed Lupin. "Enough, you two."

"So truths it is then?" Potter inquired. Black and Snape exchanged a long look before nodding their consent. Lupin commented, "How about we each write down two questions, then mix them together in a hat and pull one out going in a clockwise direction? Plus _everyone_ has to answer, that way no questions are asked that the questioner wouldn't answer themselves."

"That actually sounds reasonable," Snape nodded, standing up. "But instead of a hat how about a mug-"

But Black had already conjured up his black fedora with a smirk. Muttering under his breath about 'mangy, mischievous mutts' Snape got out a slightly yellowed scroll to tear into eight as well as some old ballpoint pens which he passed out to the other three. Seriously the four wrote their pair of questions and put them in the fedora. Slyly Snape said, "Since it's your hat, Black, how about you go first?"

"I'm game, and it's a fedora Snape, not a _hat_," Black stated, shaking the upside-down fedora to shuffle the folded slips of paper. He then pulled one out, unfolded it, and read it out loud.

"Who was your first crush? Um… Marilyn Monroe by a landslide. It was before I went to Hogwarts, see."

"Good taste," Lupin grinned lopsidedly. "I think I'm getting mine on Tonks… don't tell her though!"

"I think you were and are her first crush so it's okay," Black decided. Snape looked uncomfortable as he conceded, "Lily."

"Cho Chang," Potter admitted bashfully. "She's the Ravenclaw Seeker."

"Ah," went Black as he passed the fedora to Lupin. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but from the sounds of things she isn't a redhead. And Potters always in the end get with a redhead."

"Uh-huh," Potter raised his eyebrows doubtfully.

"They do, trust me," Lupin laughed as he shook the fedora around. Pulling out a slip of paper he unfolded it. With a sigh he said, "This is one of mine. Should I answer it anyway?"

"Yes," chorused the other three.

"Fine," he grumbled prior to reading. "Who is your hero? Mine is Dumbledore, I think."

"That's a cop-out," Snape disagreed. "Everyone thinks of Dumbledore as a hero. Someone else."

"Mm, my mum probably then. I couldn't have been an easy child to raise, being a werewolf and all."

"Mine would have to be… well, Lily again," Snape confessed, glaring at the other three as if daring for them to comment. Quietly Black told him, "No, you're right. She always brought out the best in people."

"But it wasn't enough for me?" he sighed bitterly. Potter suggested, "Well, she left a good impression on you at least. I think mine is now you three for surviving raising me."

"Please with these two you have to worry about surviving them," Snape retorted. Potter cheekily inquired, "What about you?"

"What about me?" grumbled Snape, but his usually sallow cheeks were pink. Black mused, "Well I guess my hero would be James- he was the best of us at pranks."

"Don't tell the twins otherwise I don't think I'd like their reactions," Potter groaned, making the adult wizards laugh- well, Snape just smiled sardonically as he took the fedora from Lupin but it was close enough for him. Taking out a slip he read, "What is your Patronus?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, um…"

With a loud crack of thunder the overhead light flickered. Everyone flinched. Lupin frowned, "Snape? Come on, it's not even that hard of a question."

"Itisadoe," he spat out hurriedly. Black puzzled, "Wait, dough? Like cookie dough?"

"No," he shook his head. "Like in the song, from the musical…"

"Wait, what?"

"Oh. A doe, a female deer," Lupin realized. Black demanded, "Like Lily's?"

Snape nodded sheepishly, his hair flopping forward to cover part of his face. Oddly Potter found it made him look ten years younger. Dubiously he broke the silence of the rain. "You all know that mine is a stag like Prongs."

"Dog."

"Werewolf."

Quietly Potter shook the fedora and got out a slip. "What is your favorite memory of your best friend? Well, I have to say, how the three of us became best friends- fighting that troll- is definitely a fond memory looking back. Especially since it really wasn't all that dangerous considering what else we've gotten ourselves into."

Nobody could deny that. Black commented softly, "I think it was my first night at the Potters' since James was sharing his room with me. We stayed up most of the night, talking."

"Planning pranks, more likely," Snape drawled, but Black shook his head. "Talking."

"When you and James told me that you knew my furry little secret and were okay with it… I was so happy," Lupin exhaled. Snape looked out the window where the rain was pouring down furiously. "Our pre-Hogwarts days were the best."

Black got back his fedora to get out a new slip of paper. "What is your favorite telly show? Well, Lupin, want to say it with me?"

"Sure," he chuckled happily. Together they chorused, "_POWER RANGERS_!"

There was another peal of thunder. Potter observed, "I don't think the storm approved of your interest."

"Meh," Black shrugged cheerily. Snape admitted, "As a boy I enjoyed _Doctor Who_."

"Doctor **Who**?" a baffled Black echoed. Snape sighed, "Don't ask."

Potter frowned, "I didn't watch much telly… um, _Fraggle Rock_ was fun though."

Lupin pulled his second slip of paper from the fedora. "What is your favorite-"

With a thunderous crack of thunder the electric lights went out, plunging Spinner's End into darkness. Black got out his wand, stating, "Lumos."

A dim light emitted from his wand. Snape got out a range of candles which he and the two Marauders set up in the library, lighting them up by magic. Meanwhile Potter got a fire started in the fireplace. The four sat in a circle like they had at the kitchen table, Lupin joking, "Let's try this again, shall we? What is your favorite position in Quidditch? Hm, Keeper probably."

"Beater," Snape decided. Potter retorted, "Seeker!"

"Nah, Chasers are the best," Black attempted to overrule them all but only a heated debate on which Quidditch position was the best ensued. At length, being the least Quidditch-crazed as well as it being his turn now, Snape grabbed the fedora and snatched the second to last slip of paper from the fedora. Over the others' voices he stated, "What was or is your favorite course at Hogwarts? Mine was Potions, of course."

"Defense Against the Dark Arts was fun with you, Lupin," Potter stated earnestly, making the werewolf blush in the muted light of the library. Black observed, "I always did like Astronomy, although Divination could be interesting at times…"

"Since I am one, Care of Magical Beasts was quite enjoyable," Lupin joked, pushing back his graying hair. Snape gulped as Potter pulled out the last slip of paper, knowing which question it was.

"What is your biggest regret?" Potter read softly, almost inaudibly against the pounding of the rain. "Well, I guess that it was kind of stupid of me to get stabbed in the arm with that basilisk fang."

"WHAT?" yelled the other three in shock. Potter shrank down sheepishly. "I did kind of skim over that part, didn't I?"

Black poked his godson in the arm. "How are you even alive if that's true?"

"Fawkes cried on me."

Looking over at his remaining best friend Black frowned, "I'll be as grey as you if Prongslet keeps getting up to such serious mischief."

"Well, I can't exactly manage it on command," Potter chuckled wryly, making Black and Lupin smile. Snape suddenly felt left over, and for some reason it hurt. Black rested his head against Potter's. "It's a tie between trusting Peter as the Secret Keeper and that 'prank' I played on you, Snape, with Lupin."

Snape blinked in surprise, but before he could comment Lupin sighed, "Maybe I should have, could have asked Tonks out for a Butterbeer at the Leaky Cauldron."

"For not being a good enough friend for Lily," Snape sighed, knowing that the others would get all the implications of 'good enough'. Potter stated softly, "I think you're a good enough friend for me, Snape. Maybe I've been a little hard on Slytherins…"

"Us too," Lupin and Black chorused awkwardly. Snape chuckled, "I've been more than a little hard on Gryffindors over the years so I guess we're even."

"Mm," went Black. "Could we all sleep down here tonight?"

"I don't see why not," Snape replied. Potter beamed, "Right. But first could we have some food?"

"Food sounds nice," Lupin admitted. So the quartet popped some popcorn on the fire in addition to some cans of soda and store bought cookies. Then they sprawled out onto the couch, sharing a huge quilt. One by one they fell asleep with the rain still falling ceaselessly onto the roof.


	9. Chapter 9

I'm back once more: without owning _anything _recognizable except for the plot bunny and guilt for not updating sooner.

Unfortunately, this is probably going to be it. But I have begun a different sort of AU- it's a crossover with Percy Jackson, but you can read them separately without worrying too much about the other.

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Potter still chanced waving to his fellow Gryffindor, who waved back, as he trailed behind Snape.**

* * *

Black was standing at the bottom of Potter's staircase that Saturday, shouting his absent godson's name.

"Harry, Harry, HARRY!"

Over at the front door Snape glowered at Lupin. "I thought we agreed that we wouldn't let him watch _Chipmunks_ reruns anymore?"

Lupin shrugged helplessly as Potter half-tumbled down the stairs to collide with his godfather. Bemused Black helped up the teen by the back of his neck. Snape grumbled, "I can't see why we can't use the Floo Network- it'd be faster and cheaper."

"But I can't stick my head out the window with the Floo," Black pointed out as if this was a perfectly valid reason. Lupin rolled his eyes. "It can't be that bad, Snape. Besides the first and only time Harry used the Floo he got lost and I for one do not want to lose him."

Black's fingers tightened subconsciously on Potter's collar as he agreed, "Right."

"Overprotective mutts," Snape muttered under his breath as he opened the front door. Despite this he did not argue further. Out loud he said, "Let's go already. I need to restock some potions supplies while we're in London."

A handful of days had passed since the thunderstorm, and the quartet was growing close; most notably Snape was now almost affectionate in terming the other adult wizards 'mutts' while Potter had been eased into calling Lupin 'Professor Moony' in a compromise after a year of him being 'Professor Lupin'.

Today the foursome needed to go to Diagon Alley in order to obtain Potter's school supplies. So they loaded themselves into the station wagon and headed off to London. In his dog animagus form Black kept his head out the passenger side window the entire trip thanks to a slight breeze and clear skies.

First they grabbed some food at the Leaky Cauldron which seemed oddly quiet. Looking around Potter wondered, "Where is everyone?"

"At the World Cup, of course," Snape pointed out flatly. Potter blinked. "Oh. Right- that's today, isn't it?"

The others nodded. With a mildly regretful shrug Potter led the way to the back where Lupin tapped the wall- three up and two across- with his wand in order to access Diagon Alley. While the bricks rearranged themselves Padfoot scratched his ear with his leg. The group split up to do the errands: Lupin and Padfoot would handle most of the items on the list while Snape and Harry would do the potions supplies restocking and buying new school robes.

Rolling his eyes Snape inquired, "Why didn't you mention that you had outgrown your old school robes when we went for day-to-day robes?"

"I forgot!"

"You're as forgetful as Longbottom, Potter."

Potter just looked away from Snape, his cheeks bright red. "Well, I did."

"Speaking of Longbottom," Potter interjected, pointing at a pair nearby. "Isn't that Neville and his grandmother there?"

"It is," Snape noted curtly. "Let's keep going- I want to get this shopping over with."

Potter still chanced waving to his fellow Gryffindor, who waved back, as he trailed behind Snape.


End file.
